L  1  B  R  ^  R  Y 


Theological     Seminary 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


^,^     BV  210  .H3  1875 

Hartley,  Isaac  Smithson, 
SI'rIf  1830-1899. 

j^,„,l.       Prayer,  and  its  relation  t^ 
modern  thouqht  and 


jjvt*^^, 


THE  VEDDER    LECTURES 


MODERN    INFIDELITY 


1874. 


THE   VEDDER    LECT  U  R  ES-1874. 


PRAYER 


AND   ITS   RELATION   TO 


MODERN    THOUGHT   AND   CRITICISM. 


A    COURSE    OF    LECTURES 

DELIVERED    BEFORE 

QLl)c  QLhcoio^icai  Scminarji  axxb  Hutgers  QTollege, 

(new   BRUNSWICK,    NEW  JERSEY), 


By    ISAAC    S.    HARTLEY,    D.  D., 

Pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church,  Utica,  N.Y. 


NEW    YORK: 
Board  of  Publication  of  the  R.  C.  A. 

1875. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  following  is  a  coi^y  of  the  instrument  of  gift,  exe- 
cuted by  Mr.  ISTicliolas  F.  Veclder,  and  recorded  by  order 
of  General  Synod  : 

*'  For  divers  good  considerations  moving  me  thereto, 
and  especially  that  I  may  in  some  degree  aid  in  uphold- 
ing the  great  and  cardinal  truths  of  the  Christian  Re- 
ligion in  opposition  to  the  popular  infidelity  of  the  times, 
and  of  '  science  falsely  so  called, '  I,  Nicholas  F.  Veddeu, 
of  Utica,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  do  give,  transfer,  and 
set  over,  to  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church 
in  America,  ten  bonds  of  the  denomination  of  $1,000 
each,  known  as  Equipment  Bonds  of  the  Toledo  and 
Wabash  Railway  Company,  bearing  seven  per  cent,  in- 
terest, semi-annually,  with  coupons  attached,  and  being 
of  the  value  of  Ten  Thousand  dollars,  at  par. 

"  This  gift  is  for  the  purpose  of  founding  and  sustain- 


viii  IN  TROD  UCTOR  V  NO  TE. 

ing  an  annual  course  of  Lectures  to  be  delivered  before 
the  students  of  tlie  Theological  Seminary  of  New  Bmns- 
wick,  and  also  to  the  students  of  Rutgers  College,  New 
Brunswick,  on  'The  i)resent  aspects  of  Modem  Infi- 
dehty,  including  its  cause  and  cure.' 

"  And  this  gift  is  made  to  the  said  General  Synod  upon 
the  following  express  trusts,  and  subject  in  all  respects 
to  the  conditions  following,  that  is  to  say  : 

"  I.  That  the  General  Synod  shall  annually,  and  every 
year  after  this  gift  takes  effect,  elect  by  ballot,  at  their 
regular  annual  session,  a  Lecturer  for  the  year  ensuing 
said  annual  session.  The  Lecturer  shall  always,  at  the 
time  of  his  annual  election,  be  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  America. 

"  II.  That  the  said  Lecturer  shall  be  required  to  de- 
liver at  least  five  lectures  on  the  general  theme  or  sub- 
ject hereinbefore  prescribed,  to  the  students  of  the  two 
Seminaries  or  institutions  hereinbefore  mentioned,  one 
month  or  more,  as  may  be  found  most  practicable  and 
expedient,  before  the  graduation  of  the  Senior  class  in 
each  of  said  institutions.    . 

"  in.  That  after  having  completed  the  delivery  of  the 
said  Lectures,  and  within  the  period  of  three  months 
thereafter,  said  Lecturer  shall  dehver  a  corrected  copy 
of  his   Lectures,  prepared  for  the  press,  to  the  Presi- 


IN  TROD  UCrOR  V  NO  TE.  ix 

dent  of  tlie  General  Synod  for  tlie  time  being,  who  shall 
give  a  receipt  therefor,  upon  the  presentation  of  which 
to  the  custodian  of  the  fund  hereby  created,  the  person 
receiving  the  same  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  and  shall 
be  paid  the  income  of  the  said  fund  for  the  then  current 
year,  but  in  no  case  shall  he  be  entitled  to,  or  receive 
.more  than  the  annual  sum  which  shall  be  realized  and 
actually  obtained  from  said  fund. 

"  IV.  That  the  General  Synod,  after  the  manuscript 
of  the  Lectures  is  so  delivered  as  aforesaid,  shall  offer 
the  same  to  the  Board  of  Publication  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  for  the  x^ui-pose  of  publication  by  said  Board, 
and  if  the  Board  accept  the  same,  such  Lectures  shall 
from  time  to  time  be  published  by  said  Board,  and,  if 
the  profits  arising  therefrom  shall  be  sufficient,  copies 
thereof  shall  be  presented  to  each  student  in  both  insti- 
tutions who  was  present  at  the  dehvery  thereof,  and 
copies  shall  hkewise  be  placed  in  the  hbraries  of  the 
Seminary,  and  of  the  College,  and  any  sui'plns  of  profits 
shall  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  Board  of  Pubhca- 
tion.  If  the  Board  shall  decline  the  offer  to  publish 
the  said  Lectures,  then  the  President  of  the  General 
Synod  shall  offer  the  same  to  any  publisher  who  will 
undertake  to  publish  the  same,  and  furnish  the  copies 
hereinbefore  provided  for. 


X  IN  TROD  UCTOR  V  NO  TE. 

*'  The  above  are  fundamental  conditions  imposed  by 
me  and  to  be  strictly  fulfilled  when  the  trust  hereby 
created  shall  take  effect.  During  my  life,  I  desire  no 
pubHcity  to  be  given  to  this  endowment,  but  after  my 
death,  it  is  my  request  that  the  same  be  known  and 
designated  as  the  *Vedder  Lecture  on  Modern  Infi- 
delity.* 

"The  securities  I  have  above  named,  I  have  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Rev.  Isaac  S.  Hartley,  of  Utica,  to  be  by 
him  retained  until  the  General  Synod  have  by  a  resolu  - 
tion  to  be  passed  and  entered  on  their  minutes,  accepted 
the  trust  hereby  created,  and  agreed  to  its  conditions, 
and  then  to  be  dehvered  to  the  said  General  Synod,  or 
their  Treasurer.  And  I  enjoin  upon  the  Synod  to  hold 
these  bonds  until  the  same  shaU  arrive  at  maturity,  and 
on  their  payment,  whenever  that  shall  take  place,  to  re- 
invest the  capital  in  permanent  securities  to  be  approved 
by  the  Treasurer  of  the  General  Synod,  and  held  as  a 
perpetual  fund  to  secure  the  objects  herein  provided  for. 

"In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  seal,  this  13th  day  of  January,  1873. 

«N.  F.  VEDDER 
"In  presence  of  Wm.  J.  Bacon."    . 


IN  TROD  UC70R  V  NO  TE.  xi 

The  following  extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  General 
Synod,  June,  1873,  contains  its  action  in  reference  to  the 
gift  of  the  late  IMr.  Nicholas  F.  Vedder : 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  gift  of  $10,000,  by  Nicholas  F. 
Vedder,  of  Utica,  to  found  a  Lectureship,  be  accepted 
by  this  Synod,  according  to  the  terms  thereof,  and  the 
same  entered  upon  the  Minutes ;  and  that,  in  memorial 
of  his  admirable  gift,  said  Lectureship  shall  be  known 
as  {he  Vedder  Lecture  on  Modern  Infidelity. 

2.  Resolved,  That  in  the  publication  of  the  Lectures, 
the  President  of  General  Synod  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
involve  the  Synod  in  any  pecuniary  responsibility. 

3.  Resolved,  That  after  offering  them  to  such  leading 
and  responsible  publishers  as  may  be  within  his  reach, 
if  they  decline,  he  shall  deposit  the  Lectures  in  the 
library  of  the  Seminary;  but  in  either  case.  General 
Synod  shall  have  the  copy-right,  and  the  sole  right,  sub- 
ject to  the  conditions  prescribed  in  the  gift. 

4.  Resolved,  That  in  the  election  of  a  Lecturer,  the 
mode  observed  shall  be  that  prescribed  in  the  Constitu- 
tion for  the  election  of  a  Professor. 

5.  Resolved,  That  if,  after  the  Synod  has  fulfilled  its 
own  duty  in  electing  a  Lecturer,  death  or  any  other  con- 
tingency should  cause  the  course  for  that  year  to  fail, 
the  income  of  the  Lectureship  shall  be  invested  and  held 
subject  to  the  trust,  to  be  used  in  case  of  failure  of 
income  in  any  year. 


xii  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

6.  Resolved,  That  one  of  the  Professors  of  the  Semi- 
nary, alternating  in  order  of  seniority,  the  President  of 
Rutgers  College,  and  the  President  of  the  existing  Synod, 
shall  be  a  committee  each  year  to  select  the  theme  of 
the  Lectures,  after  consultation  with  the  Lecturer. 

The  following  was  also  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Synod  shall  appoint,  upon 
the  Nicholas  F.  Vedder  Lectureship,  two  Lecturers,  the 
one  being  designated  to  lecture  at  the  close  of  the  pres- 
ent ecclesiastical  year,  and  the  other  to  lecture  at  the 
close  of  the  next  year;  and  that  thereafter  each  Greneral 
Synod  shall  appoint  the  Lecturer  for  the  ecclesiastical 
year  succeeding  its  own  synodical  term,  and  thus  secure 
to  the  Lecturers  more  ample  opportunity  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  their  Lectures. 

Synod  proceeded  to  elect  two  Lecturers,  according  to 
the  preceding  resolution,  and  the  law  governing  the 
election  of  a  Professor.  Eev.  Isaac  S.  Hartley  was 
elected  for  the  present  year,  and  Prof.  Tayler  Lewis, 
LL.D.,  for  the  succeeding  year. 


CONTENTS. 


f'.h^^/^y^         LECTURE   I. 

PRAYER,    AND  4hE    METHOD    BY    WHICH    IT    IS    MADE 

AVAILABLE. 1 7 

^  ^      /  LECTURE   n. 

PRAYER,  AND    THE    PERSONALITY    OF    GOD,  -  -        59 


LECTURE   in. 

CAN  GOD  ANSWER  PRAYER;    OR,  PRAYER  IN   ITS  RELA- 
TION TO  SCIENCE, -97 


LECTURE   IV. 

THE   "PRAYER  TEST." 1 47 

LECTURE   V. 

DOES  GOD  ANSWER  PRAYER;  OR,  PRAYER  AND  MIRACLE,     I97 


LECTURE   I. 


MADE  AVAILABLE. 


LECTURE  I. 

PEAYER  AND  THE  METHOD  BY  WHICH  IT  IS 
MADE  AVAILABLE. 


There  is  no  subject,  eitlier  in  the  religious 
or  tlie  physical  world,  which,  in  these  latter 
days,  has  called  forth  more  varied  discussion, 
and  in  regard  to  which,  among  the  thoughtful, 
the  intelligent,  and  the  good,  there  is  a  greater 
diversity  of  sentiment,  than  that  upon  which 
we  now  propose  to  enter.  Infidelity,  baffled 
in  her  numerous  efforts  to  find  successful 
weapons  wherewith  to  achieve  a  long-coveted 
victory,  has  again  boldly  invaded  the  domain 
of  practical  religion ;  and  in  one  of  her  holiest 
realms,  that  of  Prayer,  has  endeavored  to  wrest 
from  believers  one  of  their  most  potent  con- 
victions; and  while  even  the  unlettered  disciple 
of  Jesus,  so  long  as  he  has  the  witness  within 
himself  of  the  truthfulness  of  his  faith,  need 
have  no  fear  for  any  of  the  arguments  of  in- 
fidelity, still  it  is  proper  that,  as  often  as 
charges  are  brought  against  it,  so  often  should 
they  be  met,  and  answered  with  the  same  de- 


18  VEDDER  LECTURES.  " 

gree  of  ]3lainness  with  wliicli  it  has  been  at- 
tacked. 

And  in  general  language,  the  attitude  wbicli 
infidelity  has  assumed  on  the  subject  now  be- 
fore us  is,  while  admitting  prayer  to  be  a 
power  in  the  world,  and  beneficial  in  its  sub- 
jective influence,  it  is  not,  however,  that  power 
which  the  church  and  others  have  so  long 
claimed ;  nor  is  it  so  universal  either  in  its  ap- 
plication or  its  conquests ;  on  the  other  hand, 
it  has  the  most  marked  and  evident  limita- 
tions; and  beyond  these  same  limitations  it 
no  more  avails  than  do  the  laws  of  our  spirit- 
ual being  avail  in  the  natural  world,  or  those 
of  our  mental  organization  over  the  form, 
nature,  and  structure  of  our  bodies ;  its  prov- 
ince is  strictly  defined,  and  as  strictly  fixed. 
JSor,  unhappily,  has  it  rested  even  here.  For 
while  there  are  some  who  would  thus  confine 
this  agency  to  a  single  realm,  others,  advanc- 
ing, have  gone  so  far  as  to  deny  that  prayer 
has  any  efficacy — nay,  to  question  its  necessity. 
Not  that  they  believe  there  is  no  God,  nor 
yet  that  man  is  not  a  real  existence,  or  there 
are  no  necessary  relations  existing  between 
them ;  or  that  there  is  not  a  natural  world 
and  a  spiritual  world ;  still  less  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  God  to  establish  such  communi- 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  19 

cation  as  it  is  claimed  this  agency  reveals; 
and  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  law;  but 
the  universe  contains  no  such  force,  nor  is 
there  any  such  power ;  rather  that  which  some 
call  prayer  is  at  most  a  mere  myth,  a  void,  a 
deception,  a  dream;  and  while  none  greater 
has  ever  visited  the  world,  so  no  doctrine  has 
ever  been  upheld  by  such  flippant  argument, 
or  rests  upon  a  more  uncertain  basis. 

What  may  have  been  the  immediate  origin 
of  this  particular  form  of  unbelief,  and  the 
mode  also  in  which  it  has  been  so  recently 
introduced,  are  questions  certainly  of  much 
interest  ;  but  as  more  than  their  mention 
would  lead  us  far  beyond  the  purposes  con- 
templated in  our  present  investigations,  we 
leave  them  with  similar  inquiries  to  be  re- 
viewed by  those  who  some  time  may  follow 
us;  it  is  enough  for  us  merely  to  note  the 
fact,  that  unbelief  in  the  power  and  need  of 
prayer  is  abroad  in  the  world,  and  having 
noted  it,  to  give  it  that  consideration  which 
its  relations  to  the  church  and  the  world  so 
imperatively  demand.  And  since  it  is  as  disin- 
genuous as  it  is  unwise  to  enter  upon  the  dis- 
cussion of  any  subject,  without  a  clear  under- 
standing of  the  doctrine  involved  in  it ;  and 
as  error  and  falsehood  come  so  much  more 


20  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

frequently  from  false  assumptions  than  from 
any  process  of  reasoning,  at  this  early  stage 
in  our  investigations  let  us  ascertain,  as  best 
we  can,  what  Prayer  is ;  or  what  is  the  phe^ 
nomenon  which  some  assert,  is  not  only  capa- 
ble of  affecting  the  established  laws  of  the 
universe,  but  which  is  able  also  to  move  Deity 
himself;  and  which  others,  with  no  less  en- 
thusiasm, maintain  at  most  is  purely  subjec- 
tive, if  not  a  myth  and  a  fraud. 

And  whatever  may  be  the  definition  given 
to  prayer,  the  following  facts  in  regard  to  it 
challenge  successful  refutation : 

1.  As  to  its  antiquity,  it  rivals  anything  and 
everything  with  which  we  can  claim  an  intel- 
ligent acquaintance.  Whether  it  was  first 
heard  in  this  world,  when  man,  conscious  of 
his  lofty  nature,  stood  blameless  before  his 
Maker,  reflecting  His  image ;  or  when  driven 
from  the  garden  he  sought  refuge  from  his 
guilt  and  shame,  history  nowhere,  in  so  many 
exact  words,  informs  us.  This,  however,  we  are 
told,  that  as  soon  as  man  began  to  understand 
the  comprehensiveness  and  sweetness  of  that 
significant  expression,  Jehovah — what  it  in- 
volved, what  it  asserted,  what  it  assured — 
*'then  began  men  to  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord."   In  other  words,  its  rise  was  coeval 


PRAYER  MADE   AVAILABLE.  21 

with  the  awakening  of  man  to  the  true  rela- 
tions which  Jehovah  sustained  towards  him, 
and  which  he  sustained  towards  Jehovah.  And 
if  we  follow  the  exposition  which  some  com- 
mentators have  given  to  this  passage,  and  say- 
it  has  primary  reference  to  the  invocation  of 
God  by  His  proper  name,  in  audible  and  social 
prayer,  then  prayer  must  have  had  its  begin- 
ning years  long  anterior,  and  at  a  period 
which  can  be  measured  only  as  we  estimate 
the  time  required  to  secure  elevated  and 
heavenly  aspirations  from  hearts  and  minds 
weakened  by  sin.  Historically,  then,  what- 
ever it  is,  we  can  safely  assert  that  it  ranks 
with  the  earliest  development  of  the  intellect 
and  desires  of  man  to  know  more  of  God,  of 
His  nature,  character,  and  especially  of  His 
forgiving  mercy ;  and  that  it  received  an  open 
recognition,  in  less  than  two  and  a-half  cen- 
turies, from  the  hour  in  which  God,  having  re- 
viewed His  works,  pronounced  all  things  as 
"  very  good."  Indeed,  so  far  as  we  know,  prayer 
Ijas  always  existed ;  for  we  have  no  evidence 
that  it  was  ever  enjoined.  And  if  asking 
from  men  what  they  may  be  able  to  give  us  is 
a  prompting  of  nature,  so  soon  as  it  was 
known  that  favors  were  obtainable  from  God 
which  could  not  be  procured  elsewhere,  its 


22  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

existence  must  have  been  cotemporaneous 
with  men's  idea  of  God's  providence  in  the 
world,  and  His  interest  in  their  welfare.  Nor 
should  it  be  forgotten,  that  in  every  stage  of 
human  cultivation  there  are  evidences  of  its 
use  in  some  form — whether  it  be  that  which 
idolatry  in  its  degradation  has  assumed,  or 
the  primeval  one  of  a  sacrificial  system,  or  the 
more  refined  and  etherealized  one  of  mental 
aspiration.  And  if  we  lay  aside  the  Christian 
revelation,  and  judge  in  the  light  of  history 
and  tradition,  prayer  might  reasonably  be  pro- 
nounced the  common  starting-point  from 
which  all  religious  systems  have  diverged,  and 
the  grand  central  principle  around  which  re- 
ligious thought  and  faith  have  ever  revolved. 
2.  Whatever  may  be  the  definition  given  to 
prayer,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  there 
is  nothing  which  has  more  thoroughly  inter- 
woven itself  among  the  experiences  of  men  of 
every  nationality,  and  of  every  era,  and  which 
the  world  has  more  universally  recognized. 
In  this  respect,  prayer  is  not  as  the  fruits  of 
the  earth,  or  as  the  flowers  of  the  field,  or  even 
as  the  stars  of  the  firmament,  the  product  of 
certain  latitudes,  or  visible  only  in  certain 
localities;  but  it  has  beeji fouadJia  be  exist- 
ent where  verjiLaa,hasJbfi£n_adjf,eller^  whether 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  23 

in  tlie  North,  or  in  the  South,  in  the  East  or 
in  the  West,  among  the  hills,  valleys,  moun- 
tains, plains,  or  upon  the  sea ;  everywhere  has 
it  been  acknowledged  and  practiced.  It  is  a 
part  of  all  religions,  written  on  all  mytholo- 
gies, recognized  in  all  creeds,  and  appears 
in  every  known  language,  and  it  has  been  re- 
vealed under  all  possible  circumstances  and 
conditions.  Mariners,  explorers,  adventurers, 
missionaries,  all  bear  witness  to  its  universal- 
ity ;  and  while  the  latter  are  often  called 
upon  to  remodel  systems  of  belief,  never  as 
yet  have  they  had  occasion  to  teach  the  mean- 
ing of  prayer ;  only  the  method  by  which  it 
is  made  acceptable. 

Men  differ  largely  in  their  tastes  and  sympa- 
thies, in  their  hopes  and  as23irations,  and  in 
their  motives  and  attainments  ;  here,  however, 
mankind  are  one — none  too  humble,  none  too 
depraved,  none  too  ignorant,  nor  any  too  in- 
tellectual and  refined,  as  not  to  have  culti- 
vated it.  In  fact,  prayer  is  co-extensive  with 
the  idea  of  religion ;  and  wherever  the  possibil- 
ity has  been  entertained,  though  exceedingly 
remote,  for  the  creature  to  commune  with  the 
Creator,  there  has  it  received  distinct  expres- 
sion. And  though  it  were  possible  to  oblite- 
rate all  reference  to  its  existence  in  written 


24  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

religions,  creeds,  confessions,  and  systems,  its 
general  observance  would  still  be  evident  to 
US  from  the  numerous  sepulchral  shrines,  and 
from  the  temples  and  tablets,  as  well  as  from 
the  mounds  and  the  relics  which  to-day  dot 
the  globe.  /Bishop  Wordsworth's  remarks  in 
this  connection  are  intensely  true  :  "  As  for 
the  heathen  of  old,  they  began  nothing  with- 
out prayer  for  Divine  aid  ;  journeys  were  not 
commenced  without  supplication,  nor  voyages 
without  sacrifice ;  the  opening  of  popular  and 
senatorial  assemblies  was  preceded  by  religi- 
ous rites ;  colonies  were  not  planted  without 
inauguration ;  the  history  of  some  ancient 
cities  is  now  almost  limited  to  the  ruins  of 
their  temples.  The  most  sublime  poem  (the 
Iliad)  and  the  most  eloquent  oration  (the 
De  Corona  of  Demosthenes)  of  pagan  anti- 
quity, commence  with  invocations  of  Heavenly 
assistance.  When  was  an  ancient  general 
known  to  set  forth  on  a  military  cam23aign 
without  an  inquiry  whether  Heaven  was  pro- 
pitious to  his  enterprise  ?  When  were  years 
and  months  begun  without  prayer  and  sacri- 
fice ?  Nor  was  this  the  case  only  with  the  be- 
ginnings of  actions  and  of  times,  but  of  places 
also.  Thresholds  of  houses,  gates  of  cities, 
were   consecrated  to  the   unseen   powers   of 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  ^ 

heaven.  On  the  coasts  and  headlands  of  coun- 
tries, temj^les  stood  visible  from  afar.  The 
lofty  columns  on  the  sea-clifts  of  Sunium,  of 
Taenarus,  of  Carystus,  and  of  Leucas,  pro- 
claimed far  and  wide,  that  the  land  on  which 
they  stood  was  consecrated."  And  what  is 
to  be  noted  :  this  universal  testimony  to  pray- 
er is  not  the  result  of  revelation,  but  rather 
of  many  to  whom  its  holy  instructions  have 
never  been  known. 

3.  And  whatever  is  the  definition  given  to 
prayer,  it  should  be  remembered  that  thus  far 
in  the  history  of  the  race  no  convulsions  of 
empires,  no  change  of  dynasties,  no  councils, 
no  human  philosophy,  no  conceit  of  man  has 
been  able  to  banish  it  from  the  belief  of  men. 
From  the  hour  in  which  God  started  the 
world  in  its  orbit,  most  wondrous  changes 
have  been  witnessed.  Continents  have  been 
discovered  and  peopled  ;  powerful  empires 
have  risen  suddenly,  flourished  awhile,  and 
then  nearly  as  suddenly  have  disappeared. 
Thrones  and  governments  have  been  set  up,  and 
leagues  offensive  and  defensive  made ;  but  to- 
day they  are  not  only  powerless,  but  the  fact 
of  their  existence  to  many  has  yet  to  be  made 
known.  Cities  have  been  built,  and  trodden 
by  millions  of  human  feet,  whose  sites  now 


26  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

form  the  theme  of  the  warmest  dispute  •  while 
contrariwise,  where  once  roamed  the  beasts  of 
the  forest  and  jungle,  there  is  now  to  be  seen 
a  true  and  lofty  civilization.  And  councils, 
local  and  oecumenical,  have  been  convened, 
and  what  they  discussed  and  decreed,  others 
have  pronounced  unworthy  of  debate  and 
adoption.  And  so  of  many  of  the  schools, 
systems,  and  philosophies — all  have  succes- 
sively appeared,  and  for  a  time  exerted  a  wide 
influence ;  but  they  are  as  impotent  to-day  as 
the  authors  which  gave  them  life  and  being. 
In  short,  changes  are  ever  occurring  in  the 
state,  in  the  church,  in  philosoj)hy  and  science, 
in  theory  and  in  doctrine,  in  thought  and  in 
purpose ;  still  prayer,  whatever  it  may  be,  and 
whatever  it  may  involve,  is  the  same  as  when 
it  was  first  exercised  ;  and  if  history  is  to  be 
believed,  its  devotees  are  not  only  yearly  in- 
creasing, but  they  are  more  potent  and  culti- 
vated than  any  previous  age  has  ever  witness- 
ed.    This  leads  me  to  observe, —    • 

4.  Whatever  prayer  is,  we  have  no  reason 
to  believe  that  man  will  ever  cease  its  prac- 
tice ;  and  not  because  he  is  the  victim  of  super- 
stition, and  is  easily  deceived ;  nor  yet  from 
any  intense  illumination  which  he  is  yet  to 
experience  ;  but  from  the  fact    that   prayer 


PRAYER  MADE   AVAILABLE.  27 

seems  to  present  itself  to  the  natural  reason 
of  man  everywhere ;  to  all  his  possible  con- 
ditions and  relations;  and  to  Le  the  out- 
growth of  his  dependent  nature — in  a  word, 
because  it  is  a  part  of  his  being ;  nor  can  he 
at  times  any  more' do  without  its  observance, 
and  be,  as  he  is,  rational,  confiding,  dependent, 
than  he  can  do  without  air  or  food,  and  con- 
tinue to  live,  act,  and  think.  And  what  is  thus 
inwrought  into  the  very  texture  of  man,  it 
need  not  be  proven,  must  continually  receive 
expression.  Men  vnll  pray,  though  unable  to 
solve  one  of  the  objections  which  reason,  sci- 
ence, or  experience  may  allege  against  it.  Men 
will  pray,  though  daily  reproved  for  their 
weakness,  and  laughed  at  for  their  ignorance 
and  credulity.  Men  will  pray,  though  the 
language  which  they  may  employ  be  broken 
and  fragmentary,  and  fail  in  expressing  the 
intensity  of  their  feeling,  or  the  depth  of  their 
need.  Men  will  pray,  though  they  may  know 
and  feel  that  Heaven's  ears  are  closed  against 
their  appeals,  and  for  their  succor  no  arm 
will  be  outstretched.  Men  will  pray,  though 
they  know  neither  the  time  nor  the  mode  in 
which  Grod  may  answer  their  suj^pli cations. 
When  one  is  exposed  to  temptation,  or  feels 
the  need  of  another's  wisdom  to  guide  him  in 


28  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

his  plans — or  is  in  doubt  and  fear — or  is  bend- 
ing under  heavy  burdens,  who  can  prevent 
such  a  one  from  turning  heavenward?  Or 
when  the  child  of  the  house  is  stricken  with 
disease,  and  moans  under  its  sufferings,  what 
is  there  that  is  able  to  restrain  the  father  or 
the  mother  of  that  child  from  imploring  heaven 
for  his  recovery,  and  of  pushing  their  peti- 
tions with  an  earnestness  which  knows  no  de- 
nial ?     And  finally, — 

5.  However  prayer  may  be  defined,  it  has 
been  practiced,  and  adopted,  and  urged  uj)on 
others,  by  those  who  have  constantly  sought 
the  highest  interests  of  man,  and  who  are 
universally  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  un- 
selfish, loving,  and  excellent  of  the  earth.  It 
is  likewise  the  belief  of  those  whom  the  world 
can  least  s]3are,  and  to  whom,  were  it  expedi- 
ent, all  men  would  render  the  highest  honors. 

But  what  is  Prayer  ?  What  is  the  phenom- 
enon itself?  And  in  answering  this  question 
at  this  point  of  our  investigation,  purely  from 
its  human  side,  and  speaking  negatively,  and 
beginning  Avith  some  of  the  lowest  concep- 
tions which  have  been  formed  in  regard  to  it, 
we  would  say :  Prayer  is  not  any  chosen  atti- 
tude of  the  body,  as  the  bending  of  the  knee, 
the  closing  of  the  eye,  or  the  upraising   of 


PRAYER   MADE  AVAILABLE.  29 

the  hand ;  nor  is  it  any  plausible  fornaality, 
attired  in  regal  pomp  and  splendor  ;  still 
less  any  arrangement  of  so  many  mellifluous 
words,  each  one  of  which  may  be  surcharged 
with  love  or  humility,  and  harmoniously  mar- 
shalled as  jewels  upon  a  golden  string;  nor 
is  it  an  apostrophe  to  woods  and  wilds,  or 
waters  ;  or  a  "  voice  convulsively  sent  out  into 
space,  whose  utterance  is  a  physical  relief, 
like  the  bitter  cry  of  the  hare  when  the  grey- 
hound is  upon  her"  ;  nor  is  it  the  proud  as- 
cent of  the  imagination  into  some  high  region 
of  splendors  and  sublime  abstractions ;  nor  is 
it  rapture,  or  rhaj)sody,  or  necessarily  any 
lofty  ecstasy  of  the  soul ;  still  less  any  mere 
conception  of  God — His  wisdom — His  power 
— His  love — or  any  dramatic  wrestling  with 
Him;  or  a  '^machine  warranted  by  theologi- 
ans to  make  God  do  what  His  clients  want." 
Rather  is  it  something  far  different  and  deep- 
er, both  in  nature  and  character,  and  immeas- 
urably more  holy,  reliable,  and  successful  in 
its  results ;  and  a  something  which  is  born 
far  away  from  the  cold  regions  of  the  intel- 
lect, and  which  has  in  it  nothing  either  ceremo- 
nial, passionate,  and  perfunctory,  or  which  in- 
volves lofty  conceptions,  mental  greatness,  or 
the  most  chaste  and  liberal  endowments. 


30  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

When  we  desire  to  know  what  prayer  is,  as 
to  its  essence  or  nature,  we  must  not  look  for 
it  either  in  the  lofty  realm  of  the  intellect, 
nor  yet  in  the  woDdrou^^rena  of  the  imagina- 
tion, nor  among  the  high-sounding  phrases  of 
men — among  words,  however  beautifully  ar- 
ranged or  eloquently  expressed  ;  for  no  mere 
mental  effort  can  know  it ;  nor  bare  flight 
of  the  imagination  reach  it ;  nor  any  stately 
marshalling  of  ]3eriods  attain  it  ;  for  lan- 
guage is  merely  the  channel  through  which 
it  reveals  itself,  or  the  casket  which  may 
hold  the  Jewel,  but  not  the  jewel  itself;  for  as 
the  diamond  differs  from  the  settino^,  so  does 
true  prayer  differ  from  much  with  which  it 
may  be  and  has  been  associated.  When  the 
Bible  refers  to  prayer,  it  speaks  of  it  as  "  draw- 
ing near  to  Grod  " ;  "  speaking  unto  the  Lord  " ; 
"  declaring  to  Him  our  ways  " ;  "  pouring  out 
our  hearts  before  Him" ;  "  comino-  to  the 
throne  of  grace" ;  and  as  "  the  lifting  up  of 
the  soul  and  of  the  heart  unto  God."  Nor 
does  it  rest  here,  but  with  the  fact  that  it  is 
'^  the  lifting  up  of  the  soul  unto  God,"  it  des- 
cribes it,  also,  as  "  wrestling  with  God" ;  as 
"  an  offering"  ;  a  "  meditation"  ;  "  incense"  ; 
and  a  "  declaration  of  our  way  to  Him."  Such 
are  some  of  the  ex23ressions  of  the  ScrijDtures, 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  31 

when  it  would  speak  of  this  holy  exercise. 
And  while  we  need  not  quote  further  from 
its  pages,  who  can  fail  to  discover  were  the 
thouo-ht  which  runs  throuo-h  all  these  and 
similar  expressions  to  be  embodied  in  one 
phrase,  it  would  be  other  than  this ; — that 
prayer  is  the  desire  of  the  heart,  or  the  turn- 
ing of  the  soul  to  God,  and  seeking  commun- 
ion with  Him.  Certainly  this  is  the  germi- 
nal truth,  which  threads  all  the  numerous 
definitions  of  this  holy  and  heavenly  duty. 

Prayer,  then,  is  not,  as  too  many  unhappily 
su23pose,  a  secret  imparted  only  to  men  of 
peculiar  temperaments ;  nor  is  it  a  gift  con- 
ferred upon  a  chosen  few  ;  or  an  art  or  science 
which  is  to  be  acquired  by  observing  the 
practices  and  teachings  of  others.  But  as  it 
is  a  feeling  of  which  all  may  be^  conscious,  so 
is  it  an  experience  which  all  may  possess ; 
and  for  whose  exercise  God  has  made  pro- 
vision in  every  heart,  encased  in  whatever 
form,  living  in  whatever  age,  and  whatever 
may  be  its  convictions,  its  purposes,  or  its  des- 
tiny. Indeed,  prayer,  in  its  last  analysis,  pre- 
supposes no  extraordinary  endowments,  no 
special  gifts,  no  superior  knowledge,  no  un- 
usual experiences — simply  a  warm  heart,  and 
a  consciousness  of  the  relations  which  exist 


32  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

between  man  and  his  Creator.  Its  birtli  and 
life  are  found  in  tlie  aifections,  and  there,  as 
a  force,  it  rules  and  reigns  supremely.  Con- 
sequently, it  is  not  he  who  knows  the  most 
that  prays  the  most,  nor  he  who  thinks  the 
most,  or  says  the  most,  though  he  may  have 
assumed  the  most  profound  attitude  known 
to  devotion,  and  in  the  most  musical  and  elo- 
quent words  have  called  upon  God  to  give 
ear  to  his  apjDeal.  For  such  a  conception  of 
prayer  would  be  converting  this  sweet  privi- 
lege, this  silent,  but  none  the  Jess  effective, 
agency  into  words  or  language,  and  acknowl- 
edging true  prayer  as  born  of  the  intellect, 
or  as  the  product  of  mere  form  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  to  be  the  most  successful  petition 
which  involves  the  noblest  thought,  and 
which  may  be  apparelled  in  the  richest  and 
most  harmonious  s^dlables.  In  fact,  one  may 
repeat  a  hundred  times  a  day  that  most 
beautiful  and  comprehensive  prayer  which 
the  Master  himself,  anticipating  for  all  time 
the  sentiments,  the  wants,  and  the  longings 
of  the  race,  has  left  us,  beginning  with  that 
endearing  expression,  "  Our  Father  which  art 
in  Heaven ; "  or  with  the  sweet  singer  of 
Israel,  he  may  say,  "  My  soul  thirsteth  for 
Thee,  O  God,  my  flesh  longeth  after  Thee." 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  33 

Yea,  he  may  weep  himself  away  as  a  cloud, 
and  yet  no  prayer  rise,  nor  a  single  vow  or 
complaint  be  lodged  where  he  would  have 
them  lodge;-  But  he  whose  affections  have 
been  so  touched,  and  whose  heart  has  become 
so  warmed  and  lighted,  as  to  experience  deep, 
honest,  and  holy  cravings,  and  whose  soul  has 
been  made  alive,  it  matters  not  how  feebly, 
to  its  true  character  and  destiny,  and  to  the 
high-born  relations  which  exist  between  him 
and  his  God ;  and  who,  in  view  of  its  charac- 
ter and  its  relations,  hungers  and  thirsts, 
burns  and  pants,  craves  and  sighs  for  certain 
favors,  for  greater  knowledge  of  self,  and  a 
high,  holy,  and  unbroken  communion  with 
heaven ;  he  it  is  who  really  prays,  and  whose 
desires  and  petitions  ascend  like  holy  in- 
cense to  the  skies. 

When  one  has  most  profoundly  reflected 
upon  his  condition,  and  has  a  just  estimate  of 
the  relations  which  he  sustains  to  his  Maker, 
and  feels  condemned  by  the  extent  and  depth 
of  that  guilt  which  his  transgressions  have 
brought  upon  him  ;  or  when  one,  by  reason 
of  the  light  which  beams  into  his  bosom,  is 
led  to  see  his  helplessness,  and  literally  groans 
over  his  weakness  and  past  indifference  and 
ingratitude ;  or  when  the  heart  fairly  burns 


34:  VEDDER  LECTURES, 

for  forgiveness  and  reconciliation,  and  would 
be  willing  to  part  with  all,  could  it  be  assured 
of  its  acceptance  with  God ;  and  in  view  of 
its  guilt,  unworthiness,  and  emj^tiness,  it  re- 
solves to  turn  to  God,  and  life  is  given  to 
those  resolves;  that  soul,  that  spirit,  that 
heart  prays  more — those  desires  or  those  re- 
solves which  then  and  there  are  born,  that 
holy  emulation  which  it  now  seeks,  and  that 
love  and  pardon  which  it  craves — all  these 
newly-born  aspirations  are  prayers  deeper  and 
more  significant  than  the  grandest  mental 
conceptions,  or  that  which  words  can  possibly 
express  or  language  frame.  For  true  prayer 
lies  back  of  bare  intellect  and  of  mere  syl- 
lables. It  is  not  lip  labor,  nor  is  it  word 
music.  For  there  may  be  prayer  in  a  sigh — 
that  deep  throbbing  of  the  heart  which  out- 
wits all  language  to  describe ;  there  may  be 
prayer  in  a  groan — the  inner  aching  of  a  dis- 
tracted spirit ;  there  may  be  prayer  in  a  look ; 
there  may  be  prayer  in  a  smile ;  there  may 
be  prayer  in  a  nod  ;  and  there  may  be  prayer 
in  a  hope.  And  when  the  soul,  alive  to  its 
salvation  or  condemnation,  evinces  by  a 
moistened  eye  its  true  condition,  the  tears 
which  then  may  be  shed  are  real  and  living 
prayers.     And  that  fire  which  animates  every 


PRAYER  MADE   AVAILABLE.  35 

awakened  heart — its  flame,  its  heat ;  and  those 
holy  motives  which  stimulate  to  eifort — their 
life  and  aim ;  those  righteous  purposes  which 
contribute  so  largely  to  the  joy  and  comfort 
of  the  soul — their  eagerness  and  yearning — 
all  those  inner  movements,  those  internal 
promptings,  the  hidden  cravings — every  holy 
desire  born  in  the  heart — is  a  prayer,  whether 
expressed  in  words,  or  never  spoken  by  the 
lips.  How  often  it  is  that  the  heart,  alive  to 
its  true  condition,  is  unable  to  express  its 
condition  or  its  desires  in  language.  There 
are  times,  indeed,  when  the  experiences  of  the 
soul  are  too  deep  for  utterance ;  and  there  are 
affections  and  emotions  which  language  fairly 
chills,  and  which,  if  ever  framed  with  words, 
would  be  robbed  of  their  power ;  just  as  to 
the  convicted  there  is  a  silence,  the  force  and 
nature  of  which  God  only  fully  knows,  and 
which  only  Grod  can  fully  interpret.  The 
soul  assuredly  has  its  nerves  and  sinews  as 
well  as  the  body,  and  the  heart  its  tongue 
and  lip  of  utterance  as  well  as  the  under- 
standing, though  no  word  breaks  upon  the 
stillness  of  the  air.  Mark  one  whom  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  awakened  to  a  knowledge  of  his 
sins  ;  and  who,  in  the  golden  light  which  ra- 
diates  from  His  presence,  has   beheld  their 


36  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

magnitude :  that  poor,  trembling,  smitten  soul 
whose  conscience  has  been  pricked — Peter 
standing  without  the  porch ;  or  behold  him 
into  whose  inner  depths  truth  has  thrown  its 
convincing  rays,  whose  heart  may  have  be- 
come melted,  but  who  now  is  invested  with  a 
joy  unequalled  by  a  possession  of  the  world's 
greatest  treasure — as  Paul  of  old ;  in  the  one, 
that  sense  of  nothingness,  that  complete 
emptiness  and  unworthiness  before  God — 
those  tears,  those  telescopic  globes  through 
which,  when  born  of  penitence,  God  looks 
nearer  and  dearer  ;  and  in  the  other,  that  holy 
calmness,  that  look  of  joy,  acceptance,  and 
forgiveness,  as  far  transcends  words  or  mere 
expression,  as  the  brilliant  light  of  the  meri- 
dian outglories  the  deepest  darkness  of  night. 
The  desire  of  Peter  to  be  forgiven,  or  of  Paul 
to  be  borne  home  to  that  kingdom  from 
whence  came  those  sudden  flashings,  is  more 
eloquent  than  the  most  serious  lamentations, 
or  words  of  honeyed  sweetness  and  beauty. 
Nay,  just  as  in  the  heart  of  a  great  musician 
there  are  silent  melodies  which  are  never  to 
roll  forth  from  harp  or  organ,  so  there  are 
desires  which  language  cannot  frame,  nor 
words  possibly  express. 

Do  we  not  see  at  times  some  bowed  in  deep 


PRAYER   MADE   AVAILABLE.  37 

affliction,  and  so  deep  as  to  be  beyond  the 
power  of  all  outward  expression  or  of  mere 
lip  utterance — a  widow  bending  over  the  cold 
form  of  her  early  protector  and  friend ;  or  a 
father,  white  and  motionless,  gazing  for  the 
last  time  upon  the  pearly  features  of  his  only 
boy !  And  will  it  be  said  that  in  those  bleed 
ing  hearts,  in  those  quivering  lips,  in  those 
trembling,  stricken  fi^aines,  there  are  no  long- 
ings, no  aspirations,  no  desires,  no  prayer! 
Are  there  not  periods  when  the  heart  cannot 
speak,  when  its  lips  are  fairly  sealed ;  times 
when  the  inner  movements  of  the  soul  are  too 
full,  large,  and  grand — far  too  grand  and  pro- 
found for  expression,  and  when  all  its  ap- 
peals are  inly  breathed  ;  seasons  in  which  the 
emotions  of  the  heart  are  altogether  too  sub- 
tile or  refined  for  words?     In  the  soul 

"  That  mysterious  thing, 
Which  hath  no  Umit  from  the  walls  of  sense, 
No  chill  from  hoary  time,  with  pale  decay 
No  fellowship,  but  shall  stand  forth  unchanged, 
Unscorched  amid  the  resurrection  fires, 
To  bear  its  boandless  lot  of  good  or  ill — " 

do  not  fires  often  burn,  though  neither  the 
heart  and  light  are  discernible  by  any  out- 
ward vision  %  Stand  for  a  few  minutes  nio^h 
unto  Bethany.     And  in  a  certain  home,  death 


38  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

has  done  its  work,  and  done  it  most  success- 
fully ;  and  the  hearts  of  many,  but  of  two 
especially,  are  smitten,  and  deeply  smitten, 
because  their  brother  is  not.  And  as  the 
Master  draws  near  the  bereaved  household, 
we  are  told,  Martha  eagerly  runs  to  meet  Him ; 
she  would  be  the  first  to  speak  to  her  own 
and  her  brother's  Friend,  and  to  breathe  into 
His  willing  ear,  "  Lord,  if  Thou  hadst  been 
here,  my  brother  had  not  died."  "  But  Mary 
sat  still  in  the  house."  But,  as  she  quietly 
awaits  the  presence  of  her  loving  Friend,  in 
her  heart  are  there  no  longings,  no  cravings  ? 
Though  across  the  shadowed  threshold  she 
does  not  step,  or  haste  to  tell  her  sorrow  to 
her  approaching  Friend,  are  there  not  within 
her  hungerings  and  burnings  that  He  would 
come,  and  quickly  come,  and  to  her  own  fa- 
miliar home,  that  she  might  acquaint  Him  with 
her  grief  ? 

Or  stand  near  Olivet's  rugged  slope,  and 
behold  the  Saviour,  His  earthly  labors  over, 
about  to  leave,  nay,  leaving,  His  timid  disci- 
ples to  struggle  as  He  struggled  with  the 
world,  and  to  bring  it  back  repentant  unto  God. 
And  as  they  gaze  through  the  rifted  cloud, 
and  look  upon  His  sublime  form  gradually 
melting  into  purer  and    brighter   light;    as 


PRAYER   MADE  AVAILABLE.  39 

tliey  think  of  His  teacliings,  and  of  His 
power,  of  His  promises  and  prayers,  of  His 
origin  and  destiny  ;  and  recall  tlie  trials  which, 
if  faithful  to  Him,  they  must  endure  before 
a  like  glorious  ascension  shall  be  theirs — 
trials  from  their  own  friends,  and  from  their 
own  brethren,  from  captains,  priests,  and  gov- 
ernors and  emperors — among  that  astonished 
group,  as  they  follow  that  majestic  form, 
"  steering  its  flight  of  gentlest  wing  to  gain 
its  native  Heaven,"  is  there  no  desire  ?  Have 
their  steadfast,  earnest  looks  upon  the  ascend- 
ing glory  no  power,  no  significance  ?  Among 
them,  then  and  there,  are  thyre  no  burnings, 
no  aspirations  to  shake  off  the  chains  and  all 
the  dust  of  earth,  and  enter  Heaven  with 
their  ascending  Lord  ?  The  Saviour,  going 
directly  to  His  Father's  house,  to  re-occupy 
His  early  throne,  and  within  the  hearts  of 
His  own  brethren  no  breathino;s  for  a  like  im- 
mediate  journey  ?  Were  we  thus  to  conclude, 
we  would  be  robbing  the  golden  harp  of  its 
finest  and  most  sonorous  strings.  As  we  can 
never  print  a  tone,  or  a  sigh,  or  a  tear,  no 
more  can  we  expect  language,  at  all  times, 
to  embody  the  holy  emotions  of  the  heart. 

And  it  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  there  are 
those  whose  tongues  God,  in  His  inscrutable 


\ 


40  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

wisdom,  has  been  pleased  to  seal.  And  I  do 
not  now  allude  to  tliat  vast  multitude  wliom 
deatli  has  blasted  with  his  icy  breath,  and 
upon  whose  turf  the  young  flowers  to-day 
bud  and  bloom  ;  but  to  those,  few  though 
they  may  be,  from  whom  there  has  been  with- 
held the  power  of  speech. 

"  'Tis  sweet  to  see  the  babe  kneel  by  its  mother's  side, 
And  lisp  its  brief  and  holy  prayer  at  hush  of  even-tide  ; 
And  sweet  to  mark  the  blooming  youth,  at  morning's  purple 

ray, 
Breathe  incense  of  the  heart  to  Him  who   ruleth  night  and 

day. 
But  how  the  bosom's  secret  pulse  with  strong  emotions  swell, 
And  tender,  pitying  thoughts   awake,  which  language  may 

not  tell. 
When  yon  mute  train,  who  meekly  bow  beneath  affliction's 

rod, 
Whose  voice,  though  never  heard  by  man,  pour  forth  the 

soul  to  God ! 
They  have  no  garment  for  the  thought  which  springs  to  meet 

its  sire, 
No  tongue  to  flush  the  glowing  cheek,  or  fan  devotion's  fire  ; 
Yet  surely  to  the  Eternal  throne  the  spirit's  sigh  may  soar, 
As  free  as  if  the  wing  of  speech  its  hallowed  burden  bore." 

/^Prayer,  then,  in  its  last  analysis,  must  be 
yfeeling  or  desire.  It  is  an  instinct ;  and  con- 
sequently, it  is  not  the  product  of  anything 
external  to  us :  but  it  is  a  part  of  that  nature 
wherewith  man  was  originally  endowed, 
when  God,  having  formed  his  physical  frame, 


i 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.    ^  41 

breathed  into  his  nostrils,  and  man  became  a 
living  soul.  And,  since  it  is  an  instinct,  it 
ranks  with  those  numerous  other  instincts  or 
intuitive  ideas  whose  existence  the  thought- 
ful have  always  recognized.  And  yet,  when 
we  say  Prayer  is  an  instinct,  we  do  not  mean 
that  it  is  such  as  the  animal  reveals  when  it 
would  seek  relief,  it  knows  not  when  or 
where,  or  when  it  would  express  its  wants  in 
its  peculiar  way ;  but  it  is  an  instinct  whose 
exercise  comes  from  the  conviction  that  the 
aid  sought  can  be  granted.  It  is  an  instinct 
whose  action  is  born  of  thought ;  and  which, 
whensoever  exercised,  feels  that  its  highest 
cravings  can  be  fully  realized.  It  is  an  in- 
stinct* which  recognizes  the  existence  of  a 
higher  power,  and  the  possibility  of  that 
power  interposing  in  its  behalf. 

But  not  to  anticipate.  Advancing,  there- 
fore, in  our  definition  of  this  familiar  term, 
and  considering  it  in  the  immediate  connection 
in  which  it  presents  itself  in  our  present  in- 
vestigations, remembering  what  man  is  in  his 
nature.  Prayer  may  be  defined  as  the  act  of 
the  creature  bowing  before  the  Creator  ;  it  Ts 
the  subject  doing  homage  to  his  Sovereign ; 
it  is  a  child,  an  erring  child,  calling  upon  his 
Father.     Yet  more,  it  is  the  soul  thinking  and 


42  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

feeling ;  and  in  its  noblest  action  seeking 
higher  and  holier  communion  with  God  ;  it  is 
the  God-like  in  man  returning  to  that  of 
which  he  is  a  part,  or  the  human  sighing  and 
wrestling  for  the  divine. 

And  remembering  man's  need,  Prayer  is  an 
intelligent  expression  of  that  need  unto  God  ; 
it  is  an  instinctive  crying  unto  God,  with  a 
deep  conviction  that  He  can  administer  not 
only  the  relief  sought,  but  He  can  meet  every 
want ;  and  it  is  the  soul  asking  that  its  nu- 
merous necessities  may  be  suj)plied. 

And  remembering  man's  dependence,  Pray- 
er is  the  soul  acknowledging  its  weakness, 
and  its  appeal  to  God  in  its  hour  of  sore  ex- 
tremity ;-  it  is  a  solicitation  from  Him  of  its 
requirements,  with  the  confidence  that  what- 
ever may  be  asked  in  faith,  and  in  obedience 
to  the  Divine  will,  shall  be  given  ;  and  a  feel- 
ing, if  God  does  not  then  interfere,  suffering, 
sorrow,  and  destitution  must  follow. 

And  remembering  man's  weakness  :  Prayer 
is  helplessness  casting  itself  upon  power ;  it 
is  ignorance  seeking  knowledge  from  wisdom ; 
it  is  feebleness  coveting  strength  ;  it  is  the 
humiliation  of  the  whole  man  before  God, 
and  an  earnest  entreaty  that  his  frailty  may 
become  might,  and  vigor,  and  efficiency. 


PRAYER   MADE  AVAILABLE.  43 

And  remembering  man's  destiny :  Prayer 
is  tlie  soul  laboring  for  God's  forgiveness,  ac- 
ceptance, and  His  enduring  friendship  ;  it  is 
the  imperishable  within  him  longing  for  its 
true  and  only  proper  home,  and  to  be  made 
meet  for  that  inheritance  which  has  been 
promised  it,  and  for  which  man  was  origi- 
nally created. 

And  remembering  man's  endowments  and 
present  character,  that  he  has  mind,  and  will, 
and  affections,  and  aspirations ;  and  that  he 
is  guilty,  sinful,  sorrowful,  and  prone  to  ini- 
quity :  Prayer  is  mind  in  its  highest  action ; 
it  is  will  employed,  and  busily  employed,  in 
its  noblest  work ;  it  is  affection  flowing  in  its 
holiest  channel,  and  aspiration  rising,  as  upon 
angels'  wings,  and  coveting  full  realization  in 
the  immediate  presence  of  God.  And  it  is 
guilt  seeking  remission  ;  it  is  sinfulness  crav- 
ing perfect  purity ;  it  is  sorrow  pouring  its 
grief  into  the  ears  of  mercy ;  and  depravity 
sighing  to  be  washed  in  the  fountain  which 
has  been  opened  for  sin  and  all  uncleanness. 

And  when  it  is  remembered  what  God  is — 
that  He  is  the  Creator  and  Preserver,  and 
bountiful  Benefactor,  the  Almighty  God,  our 
Father;  and  it  is  He  whom  we  have  offend- 
ed ;  and  the  relations  which  man  sustains  to- 


4:4:  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

wards  Him,-^i^rayer  is  not  only  invocation, 
and  adoration,  and  confession,  and   tlianks- 

X  giving,  and  supplication,  but  it  is  ]3raise. //'  It 
is  the  link  which  unites  the  personal  will  of 
the  Father  to  the  personal  will  of  the  child  ; 
it  is  religion  in  the  fullness  of  action  ;  and, 
therefore,  in  its  widest  sense,  Prayer  is  the 
whole  homage  which  it  is  possible  for  man  to 
render  to  God  as  the  Being  who  merits  his 
highest  and  holiest  worship.  This  is  Prayer. 
Consequently,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  it 

^  involves,  first,   the  self-consciousness  of  the 

2_  soul ;  secondly,  the  accountability  of  the  soul, 
and  a  deep  feeling  of  its  dependence  and 
want ;  thirdly,  a  desire  to  have  its  wants 
gratified :  a  condition  which  embraces  the 
action  both  of  the  understanding  and  of  the 
will;  fourthly,  the  existence  of  a  Being  who 
is  able  to  aid  the  soul  in  the  attainment  of 

r  its  requirements ;  fifthly,  the  possibility  of 
that  same  Being  exercising  himself,  or  being 
exercised  in  its  behalf;  and  finally,  in  view  of 
the  infinite  distance  between  the  Creator  and 
the  creature,  or  the  Giver  and  receiver,  what- 
ever may  be  the  action  of  this  High  Person- 
ality, a  free  and  willing  submission  to  His  de- 
cisions. Such  are  the  chief  constituents  of 
prayer,  and  such  is  the  holy  exercise. 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  45 

As  there  are  two  practical  questions  con- 
nected with  prayer,  so  far  as  we  have  been 
permitted  to  consider  it,  which  merit,  at  least, 
some  mention,  and  as  we  purpose  in  our  sub- 
sequent remarks  to  speak  of  prayer  more  par- 
ticularly in  its  relation  to  modern  thought 
and  criticism,  let  me  conclude  this  lecture 
by  a  brief  reference  to  them.  ^And  one  re- 
lates to  the  art  of  prayer,  while  the  other  has 
reference  to  the  manner  in  which  prayer  is 
\^  made  acceptable. 

And^_first :  how  may  one  learn  to  pray  ? 
How  frequently  is  this  inquiry  heard ;  and 
what  lamentable  ignorance  exists  as  regards 
the  secret  of  genuine  prayer !  For  a  knowl- 
edge of  prayer  is  not  acquired,  as  some  sup- 
pose, by  any  laborious  study  of  its  form ; 
nor  yet  by  treasuring  up  in  the  mind  the  de- 
vout expressions  which  have  fallen  from  the 
lips  of  those  advanced  in  holiness ;  nor  is  it 
attained  by  memorizing  certain  portions  of 
the  Scriptures,  such  as  the  penitential  psalms, 
or  those  sublime  words  which  the  Saviour 
employed  when  He  engaged  in  this  holy  ex- 
ercise, though  all  this  may  quicken  thought, 
and  give  beauty  and  fluency  of  diction ; 
rather  is  it  by  a  knowledge  of  one's  true  con- 
dition.   As  Paley  long  since  has  expressed  it, 


46  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

"the  foundation  of  prayer  in  all  cases  is__a 
s^asg-of  want :  no  one  can  pray,  and  be  in 
/earnest  for  what  he  does  not  feel  he  needs." 
Here  is  its  beginning,  its  alphabet,  and 
whence  flow  its  numerous  springs.  Just  so 
far  as  one  deeply  exj)eriences  a  sense  of  want, 
and  of  positive  want,  so  far  does  he  acquire 
the  art  of  true  prayer.  For  this  knowledge 
possessed,  as  when  one  suffering  physical  pain, 
knows  just  where  that  pain  is ;  or  if  floating 
in  the  water,  and  in  danger  of  drowning,  he 
needs  no  one  to  teach  him  what  to  say,  or 
how  to  speak,  but  knows  full  well  how  to 

I  call,  as  Peter  of  old,  for  deliverance ;  so  with 

—--true  prayer :  let  one  be  fully  acquainted  with 

his  necessities,  and  genuine  prayer  will  flow 

/  from  him  as  freely  as  water  from  the  snows 
on  the  mountain  peak  when  melted  by  the 
sun.  It  was  not  the  seeing  who  stopped  the 
Master  as  He  left  Jericho,  on  His  road  to 
Bethany,  to  have  Him  touch  their  eyeballs; 
nor  the  hearing  who  asked  Him  to  put  His 
fingers  into  their  ears ;  or  the  strong  and 
healthy  that  went  to  the  pool  of  Bethesda  ; 
but  the  blind,  and  the  deaf,  and  the  lame, 
and  the  impotent.  They  were  lepers  who, 
as  He  "entered  a  certain  village,  lifted  up 
their  voices,  and  said :  '  Jesus^  Master,  have 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  4Y 

mercy  on  us  ! '  "  Indeed,  nothing  but  a  con- 
sciousness of  need,  or  of  one's  poverty  and 
helplessness,  will  drive  him  out  of  himself, 
and  lead  him  to  seek  aid  of  another.  When 
the  heart  has  been  scanned,  and  its  hidden 
things  brought  to  light,  and  each  of  its 
•chambers  has  been  thoroughly  examined,  and 
the  marks  or  thoughts  which  cover  its  walls 
have  been  read,  when  all  its  furniture  has  be- 
come fully  known,  then  one  can  pray,  and 
pray  with  an  eloquence  and  earnestness  be- 
fore unknown.  It  is  here  where  we  are  to 
get  all  the  food  of  devout   and   acceptable  ^  ^^^ 

supplication ;  and  not  in  any  gilded  volume,  P^^^a^- 
though  traced  by  a  redeemed  hand ;  nor  yet 
in  nature,  though  sublime  and  masterly  as 
are  her  teachings;  but  in  the,  heart,  that 
favored  temple  w^here  God  loves  especially  to 
dwell.  Good  old  Eichard  Hooker  never 
spoke  more  truthfully  than  when  he  remark- 
ed:  ''The  heart  is  the  golden  censor  from 
which  the  fumes  of  sacred  incense  must  arise, 
if  he  would  pray  aright;  as  we  read,  'My 
son,  give  me  thy  heart.' "  Yes,  it  is  in  the 
heart  where  we  become  acquainted  with  our 
condition  as  it  is,  and  where  also  we  can  see 
ourselves,  in  part  at  least,  as  God  sees  us. 
And  for  this  scrutiny  we  need  no  instructor 


48  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

nor  previous  training ;  for  looking  within  is 
simply  nature  reading  wliat  is  natural.  And 
so  easily  discoverable  are  all  our  actual  needs, 
that  when  known,  even  one  young  in  years 
and  thought  can  express  them.  A  child,  can 
know  its  wants;  and  by  word,  or  look,  or 
nod,  reveal  them;  and  so  can  all,  whether 
physical,  mental,  or  spiritual,  if  he  only  feel 
them.  Know,  then,  your  real  condition.  Look 
into  your  soul — your  inner  soul;  ascertain  its 
necessities.  Eecall  your  guilt.  Feel  your 
spiritual  leprosy.  Dive  deep  into  that  inner 
mine  and  quarry  its  easiest  veins,  and  learn 
your  true  character ;  and  then  one  will  not 
only  have  nearness  to  the  throne,  but  he  will 
pray  so  as  to  be  heard  in  heaven.  Know  your 
heart,  and  you  will  be  heard  morning,  noon, 
and  evening,  exclaiming  with  the  royal 
Psalmist  of  old  :  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart, 
O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me. 
Hide  Thy  face  from  my  sins,  and  blot  out  all 
mine  iniquities.  Wash  me  thoroughly  from 
my  iniquity,  and  cleanse  me  from  my  sin. 
For  I  acknowledge  my  transgressions;  and 
my  sin  is  ever  before  me."  And  as  we  so  often 
see  with  a  little  child,  when  its  little  prattle 
has  become  exhausted,  abandoning,  it  may  be, 
all    effort  at  speech,  it  resorts  to  signs,  or 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  49 

looks,  or  actions,  to  make  known  its  wants, 
and  the  fond  father,  at  once  interpreting  its 
symbols,  proceeds  to  satisfy  its  wishes  far  be- 
yond the  ability  of  the  child  to  reveal — so 
with  our  Heavenly  Father.  If  with  a  profound 
consciousness  of  want,  there  is  an  honest  long- 
ing for  His  presence,  a  craving  for  forgive- 
ness and  acceptance — brokenness  of  heart, 
hungerings  and  thirstings — an  acknowledg- 
ment of  emptiness,  His  hand  also  will  be 
opened  far  beyond  our  fondest  anticipations, 
to  comfort  and  to  bless. 

But  to  our  second  inquiry,  and  briefly. 
How  is  Prayer  made  available  ? 

And  in  answering  this  likewise  practical 
question,  I  would  say: 

I.  No  prayer  is  acceptable  to  God  unless 
it  is  offered  with  reverence,  with  humility,  in 
sincerity,  with  a  desire  to  be  holy,  and  in  con- 
sonance with  His  will ;  all  of  which  is  evi- 
dent, when  we  remember  whose  presence  we 
enter  when  we  would  pray ;  the  sinfulness 
and  unworthiness  of  man  ;  that  it  is  the  heart 
upon  which  God  always  looks,  and  His  in- 
tense hatred  of  iniquity.  So  far  as  the  mode 
of  praying  and  the  character  of  the  petition 
are  concerned,  all  these  are  essential  for  ac- 
ceptable prayer.     Nor  can  these  elementary 


50  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

constituents  be  set  aside.  As  to  the  inquiry, 
Wliy  is  this  ?  it  need  not  detain  us.  It  is 
sufficient,  if  we  recall  that  prayer  has  its  con- 
ditions for  success,  as  have  other  things,  and 
as  no  necessary  condition,  connected  with 
whatever  subject,  can  be  disregarded  and  suc- 
cess attained,  no  more  can  the  essential  con- 
ditions of  prayer  be  neglected  and  success 
attend  its  exercise.  And  that  these  are  the 
inherent  elements  of  prayer  is  manifest  from 
the  very  nature  of  prayer,  and  what  true 
prayer  also  contemplates. 

II.  Nor  is  prayer  acceptable  unless  offered 
in  faith.  ^'  All  things,"  says  th^  Saviour, 
"  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believ- 
ing, ye  shall  receive."  And  again,  '^  All 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believ- 
eth."  And  again,  ^'  Whatsoever  things  ye 
desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive 
them,  and  ye  shall  have  them."  ^*  But 
without  faith,"  says  the  Apostle,  '4t  is  im- 
possible to  please  Him ;  for  he  that  cometh 
to  God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He 
is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
Him."  "  This  is  the  confidence  that  we  have 
in  Him,  that  if  we  ask  anything  according  to 
His  will.  He  heareth  us."  And  as  St.  James 
writes :  "  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him 


PRA  YER  MADE  A  VAILABLE.  51 

ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally, 
and  upbraideth  not,  and  it  sliall  loe  given 
him.  But  let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  waver- 
ing. For  he  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of 
the  sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed. 
For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  re- 
ceive anything  of  the  Lord."  Faith  then 
plainly  is  another  vital  attribute  of  accept- 
able prayer.  And  it  must  be  noticed  that  this 
faith,  so  far  as  it  is  related  God  ward,  is  to  be 
centered  particularly  upon  His  character.  His 
promises,  and  His  ability ;  and  in  its  reference 
to  the  petitioner,  he  is  to  believe  that  jDrayer  is 
a  means  to  a  certain  end  ;  and  as  results  flow 
from  the  use  of  other  agencies,  so  will  prayer 
be  productive,  if  its  agencies  are  employed. 
Or  analyzing  these  statements :  as  to  God, 
we  are  to  believe  He  is  what  He  has  revealed 
Himself  to  be — a  prayer-hearing  and  a  sin- 
pardoning  God ;  and  that  He  most  willingly 
listens  to  all  who  will  come  to  Plim  in  His 
own  appointed  way.  And  as  to  His  promises 
that  have  been  made  to  us.  He  waits  to  fulfil 
them  as  soon  as  we  obey  the  conditions  upon 
which  they  were  offered.  And  as  to  His 
ability,  that  He  has  full  power  to  do  all  that 
He  has  promised;  and  though  we  may  dis- 
cover difiiculties  connected  with  His  answer- 


52  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

ing  our  requests,  yet  if  they  are  in  obedience 
to  His  will,  as  all  power  is  His,  He  can  and 
will  answer  them.  And  lie  who  prays  is  to 
believe  that  God  has  not  abandoned  the  uni- 
verse to  caprice,  but  governs  it  through  the 
use  of  certain  agencies,  and  among  them  is 
that  of  prayer ;  and  now  because  he  has  used 
this  agency,  or  because  he  has  asked,  and 
asked  in  obedience  to  God's  will.  He  will 
give  him  what  may  be  expedient  for  him 
to  possess.  Yet  more,  he  is  to  believe ; 
had  he  not  thus  have  asked,  he  would  not 
possess  much  of  what  he  does  possess ;  or,  in 
other  language,  he  is  to  believe  what  he  re- 
ceives is  in  consequence  of  his  having  prayed. 
Indeed,  the  exj)ectation  of  receiving  is  simply 
a  logical  inference  from  the  fact  that  one  has 
asked  in  faith.  If  knowledge  reveals  God  as 
seated  upon  a  throne  of  grace,  faith  leads  us 
to  His  footstool. 

III.  Prayer  is  available,  also,  when  it  is 
taught  us  by  God,  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  as 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  prayer,  as 
represented  in  the  Scriptures,  is  more  of  a  re- 
vealer  and  helper  and  teacher,  both  of  the 
matter  and  manner  of  prayer,  than  an  indis- 
pensable agent  for  its  efficacy,  as  we  learn 
from  such  passages  as  these :  "  The  prepara- 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  53 

tion  of  the  heart  in  man,  and  the  answer  of 
the  tongue  is  from  the  Lord ; "  "  ye  ask  and 
receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss ; "  '^  likewise 
the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities,  for  we 
know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we 
ought ;  but  the  Spirit  itself  maketh  interces- 
sions for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered  " — with  the  remark  that  His  agency 
has  more  to  do  with  the  petitioner  than  with 
God,  or  wdth  the  heart — its  tone,  character, 
and  condition  —  than  with  Him  to  whom 
prayer  is  addressed,  I  pass  to  name  as  an- 
other essential  of  successful  prayer  : 

IV.  That  it  be  made  in  the  name  and  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  Here,  also,  as  for 
all  our  information  in  regard  to  the  other  es- 
sential elements  of  accepted  prayer  to  which 
we  have  just  given  utterance,  Revelation  is 
our  only  true  instructor  and  guide.  Now, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  mode  in  which 
a  suppliant  under  the  early  dispensation  drew 
near  to  Grod,  and  poured  out  his  soul  to  Him, 
it  does  not  concern  us  here  to  discuss ;  nor  yet, 
whether  God  hears  those  prayers,  and  only 
those  which  are  presented  by  Jesus  Christ ;  as 
of  this  we  have  no  knowledge.  But  the 
Scriptures  do  most  plainly  teach,  until  the 
advent  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth,  all  access  to 


64  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

the  throne  was  difficult ;  and  when  it  was 
reached,  it  was  accomplished  by  an  obser\r- 
ance  of  certain  prescribed,  burdensome  rites 
and  ceremonies.  But  now,  He  having  come,  a 
new  and  living  way  has  been  oj)ened  for  us ; 
and  that  way  is  through  Christ's  merits  and 
intercessions.  As  we  read,  "Having  there- 
fore, brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the 
holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and 
living  way,  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us 
through  the  veil :  that  is  to  say.  His  flesh ; 
and  having  an  High  Priest  over  the  house  of 
God ;  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in 
full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our 
bodies  washed  with  pure  water."  And  again, 
as  we  read  in  the  previous  chapter  of  the 
same  epistle,  where  the  apostle,  having  shown 
the  superiority  of  the  new  covenant  as  medi- 
ated by  Jesus  Christ,  over  the  older  one  as 
mediated  under  the  Levitical  priesthood,  thus 
speaks :  "  Christ  is  not  entered  into  the  holy 
places  made  with  hands,  which  are  the  figures 
of  the  true,  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to 
appear  in  the  presence  of  God '  for  us." 
"  Wherefore,"  as  he  elsewhere  observes,  "  He 
is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth 


PRAYER  MADE  AVAILABLE.  55 

to  make  intercession  for  them."  Or  as  tlie 
same  truth  may  be  more  briefly  expressed : 
Jesus  Christ,  by  dying  on  the  cross,  became 
our  High  Priest,  and  therefore  Prayer  to  be 
acceptable  must  now  be  presented  in  His 
name. 

And  this  is  the  only  method  of  successful 
prayer,  as  it  is  written :  "  For  there  is  one  God, 
and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  ' 
the  man  Christ  Jesus."  And  ao^ain,  "  No  man  , 
cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me."  In  short, 
the  instructions  which  the  Scriptures  give  us 
on  this  most  vital  point  in  acceptable  prayer, 
of  praying  in  the  name  of  Christ,  are  pre- 
sented in  the  following  familiar  quotations : 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  that 
will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in 
the  Son."  "  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  my 
name,  I  will  do  it."  "  I  have  ordained  yon 
that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and 
that  your  fruit  should  remain,  that  whatso- 
ever ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  my  name, 
He  may  give  it  you."  "  In  that  day  ye  shall 
ask  me  nothing.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  my 
name,  He  will  give  it  you.  Hitherto  have  ye 
asked  nothing  in  my  name.  Ask,  and  ye  shall 
receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full.     At  that 


56  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

day  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  and  I  say  not 
unto  you  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you, 
for  the  Father  himself  loveth  you,  because  ye 
have  loved  me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came 
out  from  God."  Passages  which  certainly 
teach  that  to  pray  in  Christ's  name,  is :  first, 
to  have  a  just  conception  of  His  nature  and 
dignity,  and  the  relations  likewise  which  on 
our  behalf  He  now  sustains  to  the  Father  ; 
secondly,  an  abiding  confidence  in  His  ability 
to  do,  and  willingness,  what  He  has  promised 
to  do  ;  thirdly,  a  deep  sympathy  in  His 
work ;  and  finally,  a  partaking  of  His  Spirit. 
Such  is  it  to  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  it  is  this  prayer  which  is  the  prayer,  ac- 
cording to  His  will,  as  we  read :  "  And  this 
is  the  confidence  that  we  have  in  Him,  that, 
if  we  ask  anything  according  to  His  will.  He 
heareth  ns  ;  and  if  we  know  that  He  hear  us, 
whatever  we  ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the 
petitions  that  we  desired  of  Him." 

Such  are  the  leading  elements  in  successful 
prayer;  nor  can  they  be  overlooked  without 
defeating  the  holiest  desire,  or  vitiating  the 
noblest  aspirations  which  may  rise  from  the 
heart. 


LECTURE   II. 

PRATER  A^D  THE  PERSOITALITY  OF  GOD. 


II. 

PEAYER    AI^D    THE    PERSO]S"ALITY    OF    GOD. 

But  is  not  Prayer  more  than  the  desire  of 
the  heart?  In  connection  with  this  inquiry 
the  consideration  of  God's  relations  to  us  is 
demanded.  What,  then,  are  the  bearings  of 
prayer  as  viewed  in  this  relation  ? 

But  before  we  answer  this  important  ques- 
tion, two  other  inquiries  confront  us,  and  as 
both  necessarily  enter  into  a  correct  reply  to 
the  question  proposed,  after  naming  them,  let 
us  give  them  that  consideration  which  their 
relation  to  our  theme  so  evidently  requires. 
And  the  first  question  to  which  we  refer  is, 
the  existence  of  God.  Prayer,  as  we  have 
seen,  involves  belief  in  a  Higher  power  or  in 
Deity ;  and  it  may  be  asked,  is  there  such  a 
tEmg  or  Being  as  a  Deity?  If  so,  what  is 
this  Deity  ?  Is  Deity  a  person,  a  thing,  or  a 
mere  force  ?  It  is,  then,  to  the  demonstration 
of  the  existence  of  God  to  which  we  are 
brought. 

Whether  the  existence  of  God  can  be  de- 
monstrated or  not,  the  following  facts  in  ref- 


60  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

erence  to  this  subject,  we  believe,  are  incon- 
trovertible : 
r      First.  We  have  no  evidence  against  the  ex- 
/  istence  of  God. 

Second.  There  may  be  such  a  being  as  God, 
though  the  fact  be  undemonstrable. 

Third.  If  there  be  no  evidence  for  or  against 

His  existence,  it  is  far  safer  to  believe  He  ex- 

i  ists — that  having  served  Him,  we  may  ulti- 

\  mately  be  rewarded — than  not  to  believe,  and 

'  at  last  discover  there  is  such  a  Being. 

Foiirtli.  The  belief  in  the  existence  of  God 
is  far  more  congenial  to  our  nature  than  a 
disbelief  in  Him. 

Fifth.  It  is  only  the  wicked  who  wish  there 
were  no  God ;  and  such  of  the  intelligent  as 
may  have  come  to  this  conviction,  have  ar- 
rived at  it  not  so  much  through  any  process 
of  reasoning,  as  from  the  difficulty  of  explain- 
ing many  of  the  phenomena  in  the  world. 

Sixth,  Those  who  do  believe  in  the  Divine 
existence,  come  to  this  experience  long  ante- 
rior to  their  knowledge  of  any  theoretic  argu- 
ment by  which  it  may  be  established.  And 
finally, — 

It  is  not  so  much  the  existence  of  God  which 
men  dispute,  as  the  method  by  which  this  fact 
can  be  known,  or  how- we  are  assured  of  it. 


PR  A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.     61 

But  to  the  question :  Is  there  a  God  ? 

As  any  elaboration  of  the  numerous  argu- 
ments, which,  from  the  very  earliest  days, 
have  been  adduced  for  proving  the  existence 
of  Deity,  and  upon  which  the  intellectual  and 
the  devout  still  lean  with  confidence,  would 
lead  us  far  beyond  the  purposes  contemplated 
in  these  discourses,  in  answering  this  inquiry, 
let  us  content  ourselves  simply  with  their 
statement,  leaving  their  analysis,  as  well  as 
their  explanation  and  defence,  to  other  hands 
and  occasions.  And  as  is  so  well  known,  the 
forms  which  the  arguments  for  the  Divine 
existence  have  assumed  are  the  a  jpriori 
and  a  'posteriori;  the  former  the  arguments 
from  cause  to  effect,  while  the  latter  are  the 
arguments  from  effect  to  cause,  or  the  argu- 
ments of  experience. 

Now,  in  regard  to  this  first  method,  the  a 
'priori^  we  shall  have  little  to  do ;  and  for  the 
reason  that,  notwithstanding  the  many  forms 
in  which  it  has  been  presented,  and  the  numer- 
ous additions  and  improvements  which  it  has 
received  at  the  hands  of  such  men  as  Des  Car- 
tes, Leibnitz,  Wolfe,  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  Cousin, 
Baumgarten,  and  others,  as  it  makes  God's  ex- 
istence depend  upon  an  inference ;  and  as  it  is 
impossible  to   reduce  metaphysical  proof  to 


62  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

what  is  termed  a  demonstration,  as  an  argu- 
ment it  is  imsatisfactory ;  and  witli  all  this, 
thus  far  it  has  failed  to  make  any  practical  im- 
pression in  the  interests  either  of  true  virtue 
or  of  genuine  piety.  Indeed  God,  in  His  es- 
sence, is  inconceivable  to  man ;  and  this  arises 
purely  from  man's  weakness.  God's  nature 
also  differs  from  our  nature."  In  fact,  our  be- 
ing is  a  communicated  being ;  whereas  God's 
being  is  of  another  character.  His  existence 
is  a  self-existence.  And  since  He  exists  of 
Himself,  He  alone  knows  why  He  exists,  and 
also  the  manner  of  that  existence.  But  though 
the  essence  of  God  is  inconceivable,  it  does 
not  necessarily  follow  that  His  existence  may 
not  be  a  necessary  inference  from  undeniable 
principles;  as  He  has  manifested*  Himself; 
and  it  is  in  His  manifestation  where  He  has 
made  himself  known  to  us.  We  turn  then  at 
once  to  the  «  'posteriori  arguments  for  proving 
the  Divine  existence. 

And  in  this  field  the  arguments  upon  which 
we  would  rest,  and  if  need  be  urge,  are  in  the 
main  the  following : 

1.  That  God  exists  is  evident  from  the  ex- 
pressions of  boundless  intelligence  which  are 
discoverable  in  the  world,  turn  where  we 
may ;  and  as  order,  and  law,  and  proportion, 


PR  A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.      63 

and  harmony  suggest  design,  so  does  design  ^ 
argue  a  designer,  as  truly  as  thought  argues  ^ 
a  thinker ;  or,  as  this  familiar  truth  has  Leen 
expressed:  "As  the  invisible  soul  creates  a 
visible  expression  on  the  countenance  of  a 
man,  so  does  nature,  which  is,  as  it  were,  the 
countenance  of  God,  betray  the  hidden  spirit 
which  dwells  within  it." 

2.  That  Deity  exists  is  evident  also  from 
the  undeniable  adaptation  of  the  world  to  its 
purposes.  The  world  is  an  organic  whole ; 
and  this  idea  of  oneness,  which  threads  all  its 
parts,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  never  been  suc- 
cessfully questioned,  even  by  the  most  deter- 
mined atheist. 

3.  God's  existence  may  be  deduced  from 
the  nature  and  constitution  of  man.  That 
matter  forms  a  part  of  man's  nature,  and  in 
man  there  is  something  entirely  distinct  and 
different  from  matter,  are  now  quite  the  uni- 
versal convictions  of  the  race.  Nor  is  it  less 
believed,  that  mind  is  sensible,  or  acts,  while 
matter  is  insensible,  or  is  acted  upon.  Man 
thinks;  thought,  then,  must  be  the  effect  of 
the  motion  of  matter,  or  it  must  proceed  from 
motion ;  but  if  matter  is  capable  only  of  being 
acted  upon,  since  thought  can  not  be  its  pro- 
duct, it  must  have  another  origin,  and  that 
origin,  w^e  may  say,  is  God. 


64  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

4.  The  Divine  existence  may  be  inferred 
from  its  being  an  intuitive  conviction  of  the 
human  mind.  It  is  impossible  to  free  our- 
selves from  the  notion  of  a  God,  for  we  find 
the  idea  within  us ;  and  as  thinking  of  our- 
selves necessitates  our  thinking  of  God,  God's 
existence  becomes  the  dictate  of  nature,  and 
the  instinct  of  our  higher  being. 

5.  The  Divine  existence  has  been  argued, 
also,  from  its  being  the  belief,  not  simply  of 
the  wisest  and  best  men,  but  it  is  the  univer- 
sal conviction  of  the  race.  No  nation,  no 
people  has  as  yet  been  found  to  whom  the 
idea  of  a  God  was  not  known.  Nor  do  any 
records,  however  ancient,  conduct  us  to  a 
period  in  the  history  of  any  people  where 
this  belief  did  not  exist. 

Such  are  some  of  the  arguments  which  are 
now  advanced  and  largely  dwelt  upon,  and 
by  men  of  every  shade  of  religious  belief,  for 
establishing  God's  existence.  Whether  they 
prove  all  that  is  claimed  of  them,  or  whether 
the  demonstration  of  the  existence  of  a  Deity, 
a  priori^  is  an  impossibility  ;  and  the  numer- 
ous a  posteriori  arguments  involve,  as  some 
TRaintsiin,  a  petitio  pi^ncipiij  we  do  not  wish 
to  discuss ;  nor  would  we  deny,  also,  that 
against  both  these  methods  of  reasoning  there 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       65 

have  been  brought  objections  of  no  mean  sig- 
nificance. But,  while  all  this  may  be  true, 
this  is  likewise  true — thus  far,  with  a  very  few 
exceptions,  as  arguments,  in  whatever  age 
they  have  been  employed,  they  have  carried 
conviction  to  some  of  the  most  thoughtful  of 
men ;  and  an  understanding  of  them  has  dis- 
sipated doubts,  not  only  genuine  and  deep, 
but  which  were  cherished  for  years.  While 
they  may  not  be  satisfactory  to  some  minds, 
that  they  do  not  ''  concur  in  converging  to  an 
inevitable  center,  each  contributing  at  once 
confirmatory  evidence  that  God  is,  and  com- 
plementary evidence  as  to  what  God  is,  and 
these  concurrently  establishing  the  being  of 
God  upon  immovable  foundations,^'  and  ex- 
clude all  rational  doubt,  and  approach  so 
near  to  the  character  of  perfect  demonstra- 
tion, as  to  leave  the  mind  of  an  honest  and 
sincere  investigator  completely  satisfied,  no 
one,  we  think,  will  question.  Indeed,  the  ar- 
guments to  which  we  are  being  constantly  in- 
troduced for  the  existence  of  God,  whether 
metaphysical  or  a  'posteriori^  to  be  of  force, 
are  not  to  be  received,  as  some  suppose,  in 
their  independent  capacity,  but  in  their 
united  character.  As  with  the  rope  of  many 
threads,  its  strength  does  not  consist  so  much 
4 


ee  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

in  its  individual  strands  as  in  their  union ; 
so  with  these  same  arguments ;  their  force  is 
found  in  their  unity.  By  the  a  priori  reason- 
ings, the  existence,  of  God  is  made,  so  to  say, 
possible ;  and  now  the  cosmological  advanc- 
ing on  this,  this  possible  existence  may  be 
proven  to  be  a  necessary  existence ;  and,  still 
advancing,  the  jteleological  may  show  this 
same  necessary  and  eternal  Being  is  intelli- 
gent ;  leaving  to  the  moral  the  demonstration 
that  this  same  intelligent  Being  is  not  only  in 
possession  of  moral  attributes,  but  is  just 
what  the  numerous  modes  of  proving  His  ex- 
istence show  Him  to  be.  It  is  in  their 
combination  where  their  strength  is  to  be 
sought,  and  not  in  their  isolation. 

Believing,  then,  that  God  exists — and  it  has 
been  quite  as  successfully  demonstrated  as 
any  grand  problem  with  which  we  are  fa- 
miliar, or  as  it  is  possible  for  a  fact  of  such  a 
character  to  be  proven — the  inquiry  which 
now  meets  us  is,  What  is  God  ?  Is  God  a 
mere  abstraction,  or  a  force,  or  a  law,  or  a 
name  for  the  moral  order  of  the  universe,  or 
is  God  a  person  ?  For  certain  it  is,  as  are  our 
views  of  this  vital  question,  so  must  be  our 
conclusions  on  the  subject  now  under  consid- 
eration. 


PI^A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       67 

We  ask,  then,  is  God  a  person  ?  And  we 
reply,  unhesitatingly,  God  is  a  Person ;  a 
truth  deducible,  we  believe,  from  the  follow- 
ing considerations  : 

I.  In  the  world  design  is  everywhere  appa- 
rent^; and  design  argues  a  designer,  or  an  in- 
telligence ;  and  this  same  intelligence  presup- 
j)oses  thought ;  and,  as  we  cannot  have  thought 
without  a  thinkerj^  this  same  thinker  must  be 
a  person ;  for  the  idea  and  the  reality  also  of 
personality  are  involved  in  thought.  This  is 
one  of  our  intuitive  convictions  ;  nor  can  we 
have  any  other  notion  of  a  thinker  than  of 
personality.  For,  if  thought  means  anything, 
it  means  the  operation  of  mind  ;  Mnd,  as  in 
our  own  nature,  we  are  conscious  of  personal- 
ity as  distinct  from  what  we  do,  as  the  soul 
or  mind  differs  from  matter ;  and  since  there 
is  a  God,  and  He  is  intelligent,  and  is  different 
from  what  this  intelligence  may  produce, 
this  same  intelligence  in  God  must  be  just  as 
personal  and  as  distinct  from  what  He  has 
wrought  and  has  done,  as  we  know  we  are  per- 
sons, and  distinct  from  what  our  minds  may 
have  accomplished. ;  In  a  word,  such  is  the  na- 
ture of  design,  that  it,  of  necessity,  implies  an 
agent,  and  an  intelligent  agent ;  nor  can  intelli- 
gence be   other  than  the  product   of   mind. 


68  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

An  impersonal  intelligence  is  a  contradiction  in 
terms  and  in  tbouglit,  as  well  as  in  language. 

II.  God's  personality  is  demonstrable  also 
from  His  spirituality.  And  without  multi- 
plying words,  the  argument,  in  general  out- 
line, may  be  presented  as  follows  :  Man  is  a 
s]3irit ;  this  our  consciousness  tells  us ;  and  as 
the  spirit  within  us  is  a  real  being,  so  this 
our  real  being  is  capable  of  thought,  volition^ 
and  feeling.  Now,  we  cannot  be  conscious  of 
our  specific  subsistence  without  being  con- 
scious also  of  our  personality;  and  we  are 
conscious  of  our  personality.  God  also  is 
a  spirit.  And  if  it  be  true  that,  being  spir- 
itual, our  personality  can  be  proved  from  con- 
sciousness, and  we  are  persons,  much  more 
must  God,  who  is  likewise  a  spirit,  be  a  per- 
son ;  unless  it  be  maintained  that,  both  in 
nature  and  in  character,  God  is  far  inferior 
to  or  less  than  man ;  and  this,  we  apprehend, 
no  one  has  ever  believed. 

III.  God's  personality  is  derivable  also  from 
the  nature  of  man. 

I  know  not  how  better  to  begin  my  observ- 
ations under  this  head,  than  by  proposing  the 
anterior  inquiry.  What  is  man  ?  for  we  believe, 
if  it  can  be  shown  that  man  is  a  person,  the 
personality  of  God  is  as  inevitable  as  effect 


PR  A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       09 

follows  cause,  and  is  its  logical  consequent. 
But  as  a  correct  answer  cannot  be  given  to 
this  latter  question  until  we  have  a  solution 
to  the  problems,  whether  the  mind  can  know 
itself,  and  the  mode  also  in  which  it  begins  to 
know,  let  us  turn  for  a  few  moments  to  these 
inquiries.  And  in  the  argument  which  I  pro- 
pose now  to  trace,  I  follow  Dr.  D.  H.  Hamilton, 
whose  recent  development  of  it  is  not  only 
the  most  natural,  but  far  more  perspicuous 
and  clear  than  the  older  historical  methods ; 
land  as  far  as  suits  my  purpose,  I  use  substan- 
tially his  terminology/     And  first ; — 

How  does  the  mind  begin  to  act?  With- 
out entering  into  any  discussion  of  this 
perplexing  proposition,  speaking  negatively, 
it  is  not  in  an  act  of  choice  by  the  will :  for 
the  act  of  choice  presupposes  not  only  mental 
action  already  existing  as  objects  of  choice, 
but  also  mental  actions  to  be  directed  by  the 
act  of  choice.  Nor  do  we  find  the  first  spring 
of  the  mind's  action  in  the  affections  :  for  the 
affections  are  susceptibilities,  and  they  act 
only  as  they  are  acted  upon,  and  never  until 
they  are  acted  upon  by  some  object  or  action 
without  them ;  and  this  action  or  object  is 
always  produced  directly  or  indirectly  by  the 
will's  act  of  choice.     Nor  is  it  found  in  any 


70  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

combination  of  the  will  and  the  affections : 
for  by  this  combination,  the  motive  to  choice 
and  the  act  of  choice  become  the  same ;  and 
the  act  of  choice  and  the  object  of  choice  be- 
come identical.  Nor  is  it  found  in  any  com- 
bination of  the  conscience  with  the  will  and 
the  affections :  for  the  conscience  has  in  itself 
no  original  activity,  and  can  communicate 
none  when  combined  with  the  will  or  tlie  af- 
fections ;  as  a  faculty,  it  is  simply  that  which 
gives  the  sense  or  the  consciousness  of  obliga- 
tion, and,  therefore,  acts  only,  as  it  is  acted 
upon.  But  the  true  source  of  the  mind's 
activity  is  in  its  own  essence,  in  one  of  its 
own  primal  elements,  unborrowed  from  any 
outward  or  additional  source. 

Seeing,  then,  that  the  source  of  the  mind's 
beginning  to  act  is  found  in  its  own  essential 
activity,  we  come  to  our  second  introductory 
inquiry  : 

How  can  the  mind  begin  to  know?  It 
cannot  begin  in  the  senses ;  for  all  knowing 
of  external  things  consists  in  the  interj)reting 
of  a  fact,  by  means  of  an  idea  already  in 
the  mind ;  or,  we  can  not  have  a  perception 
through  the  senses,  except  through  the  me- 
dium of  an  idea  already  known,  and  in  the 
possession  of  the  mind.    Nor  do  we  begin  our. 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.        71 

knowing  witli  the  faculty  of  the  reason ;  for 
the  reason  has  neither  facts  nor  ideas  in  itself, 
nor  in  its  possession ;  nor  any  power  of  ob- 
taining them  by  its  own  proper  force ;  and 
reason  itself  forms  ideas  from  previous  facts 
given  to  it  by  another  faculty  of  the  mind ; 
nor  has  it  power  in  itself,  as  a  faculty, 
either  to  grasp  a  fact,  or  to  create  an  idea 
without  a  fact.  Nor  do  we  begin  our  knowl- 
edge with  what  are  called  the  a  prior i 
ideas,  which  are  found  already  in  the  mind— 
such  as  quantity,  quality  or  relation ;  for  we 
can  not  have  an  idea  of  a  thing  witliout 
knowing  that  thing,  or  something  which  is 
substantially  that  thing ;  an  idea  must  be  an 
idea  of  something ;  but  if  it  be  an  idea  of 
nothing,  it  is  itself  nothing ;  there  must  ex- 
ist both  a  fact  and  an  idea  before  any  exter- 
nal thing  can  be  known. 

Believing,  then,  that  the  mind  does  not  begin 
to  know  either  in  the  senses,  in  the  reason, 
nor  yet  in  any  a  j)riori  ideas,  whence,  then, 
does  it  begin  ?  /And  the  answer  is,  it  must  be- 
gin in  a  faculty  which  has  in  itself  a  power 
of  cognition  without  ideas,  and  also  without 
sense  perceptions  ;  and  that  faculty  is  con- 
sciousness. (Here  is  the  true  source  of  the 
mind's  Feginning  to  know,  and  it  is  only  as 


72  VEDDER  LECTURES, 

we  know  first  tLe  self,  that  we  are  in  a  condi- 
tion, and  have  tlie  power  to  know  all  otker 
things.  As  the  beginning,  therefore,  of  all 
knowledge  is  of  necessity  subjective,  the 
question  now  comes, — What  is  the  testimony 
of  this  essential  consciousness  as  regards  man  % 
Briefly  this :  man  knows  that  he  exists ; 
and  as  correlative  of  his  existence,  he  has  a 
will,  affections,  an  intellect,  and  a  conscience; 
and  while  these  attributes  differ  in  their 
relation,  and  in  the  mode  of  their  exercise,  it 
is  not  his  investment  with  any  one  or  two  of 
them  which  constitutes  his  true  personality, 
but  in  the  united  possession  of  them.  His  will 
is  free  and  powerful ;  yet,  it  is  not  that  alone 
which  forms  his  personality ;  nor  yet  his  hav- 
ing affections,  and  an  intellect,  and  a  con- 
science ;  but  it  is  the  combination  of  all  these 
several  attributes  in  one  living  unity,  or  in  one 
sensuous  whole.  But  while  it  thus  testifies,  ^ 
it  witnesses,  also,  that  all  things  have  a  neces- 
sary existence  or  a  beginning  in  an  intelli- 
gent author ;  and  that  man  is  contingent  or 
dependent;  and  since  he  is  contingent,  yet 
knows  himself  as  will,  affection,  reason,  con- 
science, or  a  living  soul,  his  existence  is  not  in 
himself,  but  in  another;  and  that  other  is  not 
only  higher  than  nature,  as  the  spiritual  is 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       73 

higher  than  the  natural,  but  is  its  own  cause, 
reason,  and  ground  of  its  existence  ;  and  there 
is  absolute  ;  and  being  absolute,  it  is  not  a 
thing,  but  a  personality,  and  an  absolute  per- 
sonality ;  and  being  a  personality  as  has  every 
personality,  he  has  will,  freedom,  affection, 
reason,  and  conscience  ;  and  therefore  alone 
can  create  a  volitional,  free,  affectional,  ration- 
al, ethical  person,  as  is  man.  This  is  man's 
demand,  and  the  only  solution,  likewise,  which 
will  satisfy  the  claims  and  the  phenomena  of 
his  being.  Man  requires  for  himself,  not  sim-  \ 
ply  a  cause,  but  a  Creator  and  an  Author ;  and 
he  demands  that  the  cause  be  greater  than  ^ 
the  effect;  and  since  he  is  conscious  of  pos- 
sessing attributes  which  are  above  mere  force 
or  nature,  and  he  is  not  uncaused,  »he  must  be- 
lieve that  they  are  the  product  of  a  higher  per- 
sonality ;  and  as  it  is  his  possession  of  them 
which  makes  him  man,  so  it  is  the  possession 
of  them  by  this  Higher  Personality  which 
makes  Him  what  He  is — Grod.  God,  then,  is  a 
Person.  Indeed,  whenever  we  find  an  object 
that  had  a  beginning,  the  fact  will  prove  a  be- 
ginner; and  if,  in  addition  thereto,  the  object 
have  personality,  that  fact  will  prove  that  the 
beginner  was  a  person  also. 

IV.  That  God  is  a  person  is  derivable  also 
from  the  moral  nature  of  man. 
4* 


74  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

That  man  has  a  moral  as  well  as  an  intel- 
lectual and  physical  nature,  we  would  insult 
no  understanding  with  any  attempt  at  demon- 
stration ;  and  that  this  moral  nature  has  its 
own  peculiar  laws  and  teachings,  is  the  ad- 
mitted testimony  also  of  those  who  have  given 
it  even  casual  thought.  Now,  the  teachings 
of  this  same  moral  nature,  in  brief,  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Therais  within  us  a  d^p  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  over  which  conscience  may  be  said 
to  preside,  obedience  to  whose  teachings  im- 
mediately secures  to  us  its  approbation,  while 
any  disobedience  as  inevitably  brings  upon  us 
rebuke  and  disapprobation ;  and  its  authority 
is  not  the  authority  of  caprice,  or  of  conjec- 
ture, but  it  is  the  authority  of  law,  as  much 
so  as  any  law  with  which  we  are  familiar. 
But  from  whence  does  it  derive  its  influence  ? 
Or  from  whence  comes  this  feeling  of  respon- 
sibility ?  When  this  law  condemns  our  ac- 
tions, to  whom  or  to  what  are  we  amenable  ? 
And  whatever  else  may  be  true  of  its  teach- 
ings, certainly  this  sense  of  accountability  is 
not  to  ourselves ;  for  of  this  we  are  not  only 
conscious,  but  we  know  also  this  is  one  of  the 
decisions  of  this  same  law.  In  truth,  the  fun- 
damental idea  in  responsibility  is  duality ; 
while  it  speak!r-o#-one^t  involves  also  the  ex- 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       75 

istence  of  another,  and  since  that  other  cannot 
be  a  thing,  it  must  be  a  person ;  and  not  sim- 
ply to  a  person  who  may  be  acquainted  with 
our  nature,  and  the  character  of  our  actions, 
and  who,  as  ourselves,  can  approve  the  right 
and  disapprove  the  wrong ;  but  he  must  be  one, 
also,  who  has  both  the  power  and  the  desire 
to  punish  if  we  have  done  ill,  and  to  reward 
if  we  have  done  well.  And  whom  other  than 
God  do  we  invest  with  these  high  preroga- 
tives?— and  God,  not  as  a  mere  force,  or  a 
law,  but  as  an  intelligent,  active,  and  personal 
Being.  It  is  such  facts  in  our  moral  nature 
which  demand  the  existence  of  a  personal 
God. 

V.  But  probably  nowhere  is  the  personality' 
of  God  more  distinctly  brought  out  to  the 
common  mind,  than  in  the  theory  which  every 
man  assumes,  when,  in  compliance  with  the 
instincts  of  his  being,  he  would  endeavor  to 
offer  a  pure  and  acceptable  worship  to  that 
being  or  thing,  which  he  believes  merits  his 
personal  love  and  homage.  And  how  numer- 
ous and  diverse  have  been  the  objects  which 
men  of  every  nationality  have  selected  as  de- 
serving their  adorations ;  and  what  also  has 
been  the  character  of  the  altars  at  which  they 
have   reverently   knelt,    and   the  manner   in 


76  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

whicli  tLis  worship  has  been  rendered,  are 
subjects  witli  whicb  all,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  are  perfectly  acquainted.  And 
yet,  varied  as  have  been  the  objects  which 
men  have  selected  as  meriting  their  worship, 
and  different  likewise  the  modes  in  which 
it  has  been  rendered  ;  still  the  theory 
which  every  one  openly  or  tacitly  admits, 
as  often  as  he  would  render  homage,  be 
it  to  a  stick  or  a  stone,  to  a  snake  or  to  a 
bull,  to  man  or  to  God  is,  that  in  the  thing  or 
object  thus  worshiped,  there  resides  a  cer- 
tain consciousness  and  force  which  are  able 
not  only  to  reward  him,  if  he  is  virtuous  and 
good,  but  which  will  as  surely  punish  him,  if 
he  is  vicious  and  badJ  Or,  in  other  language, 
he  believes  there  dwells  in  it  a  personality ; 
and  so  distinct,  perfect  and  complete,  as 
to  be  revealed  in  action;  and  action  ever 
shaped  by  the  character  and  the  merits  of  the 
worshiper. 

In  truth,  this  is  the  fundamental  thought  of 
all  genuine  religion.  Eeligion  may  and  does 
differ  greatly  in  its  development ;  and  it  is 
capable  of  assuming  and  appearing  in  many 
hues ;  yet  the  nethermost  thought  of  every 
religion  is,  in  the  object  which  is  thus 
worshiped,    there    exists    a    personality    as 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       77 

genuine  and  as  entire  as  it  is  intelligent  and 
powerful,  and  as  it  is  capable  of  being  re- 
vealed. Men  do  not  adore  blind,  immutable 
law,  inexorable  fate,  ideas,  mental  conceptions, 
or  mere  abstractions ;  they  worship  rather,  if 
we  may  use  the  term,  agents  or  an  agent — and 
an  agent  whose  power  and  love,  whensoever 
invoked,  it  is  believed,  will  minister  to  their 
necessities.  True,  the  depraved  and  ignorant 
may  bow  to  a  thing,  and  may  experience  the 
deepest  feeling,  when  they  worship  what  is 
inanimate ;  still  they  believe  that  in  it  there 
is  a  life  or  a  principle ;  and  a  life  and  a  prin- 
ciple as  distinct  from  the  object,  real  or 
imaginary,  before  them  as  they  know  they 
are  distinct  from  the  object ;  and  that  that 
life  or  principle  also  is  conscious,  and  has 
the  elements  of  person  as  fully  as  they  are 
conscious  of  being  persons.  Say  of  a  man 
that  he  loves  the  absolute,  perfect,  personal 
Jehovah,  and  he  believes,  at  all  times.  His 
highest  interests  should  not  only  be  con- 
sulted, but  that  He  ought  ever  to  be  honored 
and  feared.  If,  however,  his  idea  of  this  same 
Jehovah,  is  that  He  is  simply  an  all-pervad- 
ing essence  or  an  intelligent  force,  and  where 
is  the  ground  for  fear  or  for  exercising  any 
feeling,    either    of   shame   or   alarm  1      Nay, 


78  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

before  any  sucli  feelings  can  animate  the 
heart  or  mind,  or  before  any  genuine  love 
for  God  or  even  fear  can  be  experienced, 
must  there  not  be  in  the  mind  of  this 
worshiper  an  apprehension  of  God  as  love 
and  fear;  and  not  in  any  vague  or  indeter- 
minate form,  but  in  the  higher  relations  of 
love  and  fear  personified  ?  Must  he  not  only 
love  God,  and  love  Him  abstractly,  and  fear 
Him,  and  fear  Him  abstractly;  but  love  Him 
also  in  the  full  relation  of  person,  and  fear 
Him  in  the  very  same  relation  ?  Closely  fol- 
low in  thought  the  entire  series  of  religious 
acts  and  meditation  of  which  it  is  possible 
for  a  human  being  to  be  capable,  and  do 
they  not  tend,  not  to  a  thing,  but  to  a  verita- 
ble, living,  self-conscious  person  or  being  % 
And  at  the  very  moment,  also,  in  w^hich  one 
attempts  to  dissipate  or  dissolve  this  same 
person  into  an  infinite  extension,  or  forsake 
his  personality,  at  that  very  moment  does 
not  his  religion  disappear  or  lose  itself  into 
something  equally  as  indefinite  ? 

And  yet,  while  we  thus  believe  in  and 
argue  the  pure  and  perfect  personality  of 
God,  upon  whatever  basis,  or  from  what- 
ever source,  I  am  well  aware  very  numerous 
have  been  the  reasons  advanced,  and  by  the 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       79 

thouglitful  and  the  devout,  as  well  as  by  the 
rationalistic,  that  Deity  cannot  be  a  person  ; 
nor  is  it  any  more  possible  for  Him  to  be 
such,  than  it  is  for  the  imperfect  to  become 
perfect,  or  the  finite  to  become  infinite  ;  and 
that  the  very  idea  of  personality  involves,  as  it 
is  said,  limitation ;  and  if  God  is  God,  and  what 
it  is  claimed  He  should  be,  to  be  God — the 
illimitable  Jehovah  —  no  such  attribute  as 
this  can  be  His :  that  personality,  as  related 
to  Deity,  is  merely  an  assumption,  or  a  deduc- 
tion to  complete  our  idea  of  the  nature 
of  God — not  a  necessity;  that  it  militates 
against  the  lawful  character  and  reality  of 
God ;  that  infinity  and  personality  are  un- 
thinkable and  contradictory,  since  the  latter 
has  conditions,  while  the  former  can  have 
none  ;  and  what  the  one  affirms  however  per- 
sistently, the  other,  with  equal  earnestness, 
denies ;  or  what  the  one  logically  suggests,  the 
other,  with  equal  logic,  denies  :  nay,  that  the 
one  excludes  the  other,  and  in  essence  they  are 
antagonistic.  Still,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  God's  j)ersonality  is  deducible  from  the 
structm^e  and  intelligence  disjDlayed  in  the  / 
universe ;  that  it  is  also  a  logical  sequence  ^ 
from  His  spirituality ;  and  that  it  is  likewise  '^ 
a   natural   deduction   from   the   nature   and 


80  VEDDER  LECTURES, 

character  of  man  ;  and  that  it  is  involved  mJi 
every  effort  at  successful  worship  ;  and  that  /y 
the  world  believes  this  doctrine — whether 
from  intuition,  logic,  or  revelation,  it  matters 
not  ;  and  that  the  tendency  of  any  other 
notion  of  God  conducts  to  the  subversion  of 
all  true  philosophy,  as  well  as  practical  re- 
ligion, and  destroys  the  difference  between 
belief  and  doubt,  or  the  rational  and  the  irra- 
tional ;  and  without  the  Divine  personality, 
the  attributes  of  God,  as  His  Mercy,  Wisdom, 
Love,  Justice,  and  the  like,  must  necessarily 
be  mere  names ;  and  to  an  existence,  as  is 
that  of  God,  we  can  only  ascribe  power,  and 
knowledge,  and  action,  and  other  qualities  as 
a  person  ;  and  this  notion  of  Deity  is  an  ulti- 
mate datum  of  consciousness,  and  involved  in 
the' constitution  of  the  mind;  though  much 
may  be  thus  said  against  this  truth,  and 
numerous  the  mysteries  connected  with  it, 
God's  personality  as  a  conviction  remains.? 
And  the  more  frequently  and  fully  the  basis 
is  examined  and  reviewed  upon  which  it  rests, 
the  more  surely  and  immovable  does  it  be- 
come established,  and  the  more  certain  are 
we  of  its  truthfulness.  "  What,"  is  it  said, 
"  believe  in  a  contradiction  ! — believe  Infinity 
can  be  limited  ! — believe  in  that  which  neces- 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD,       81 

sarily  must  detract  from  an  adequate  concep- 
tion of  Deity  ! — believe  in  that  whicli  is  un- 
thinkable, and  unknowable,  and  illogical  ? " 
The  answer  is,  God's  personality  and  the 
idea  of  limitation  which  it  seems  to  involve, 
are  yet  to  be  shown  to  be  in  antagonism  ; 
and  that  His  personality  is  unthinkable,  and 
unknowable,  and  illogical ;  all  this  is  as  yet 
to  be  established ;  and  no  one  can  show  that 
such  is  the  true  character  of  God.  It  may, 
perhaps,  if  left  to  mere  language  ;  but  as 
language  is  simply  an  accommodation  to 
human  weakness,  and  consequently  its  prov- 
ince is  the  finite,  and  not  the  infinite,  it 
cannot  be  expected  that  it  will  be  equal  to 
the  claims  which  a  contemplation  of  the  in- 
finite may  demand. 

And  besides,  whatever  may  be  the  language 
employed,  or  the  thoughts  which  its  use  may 
suggest,  the  fact  that  God  is  a  person  stands, 
though  irreconcilable  and  inexplicable  through 
language  :  because  it  is  an  essential  element 
of  enlightened  consciousness  ;  and  because 
also  it  is  the  ultimate  datum  of  conscious- 
ness, and  is  involved  in  the  constitution 
of  the  mind  ;  and,  in  addition  to  all  this, 
this  doctrine  is  a  revealed  truth.  Kevela- 
tion  coming  not  merely  to  the  rescue  of  rea- 


82  VEDDER  LECTURES, 

son,  but  confirming  what  reason  can  more 
conclusively  establish,  than  what  it  can,  to 
the  same  degree,  disprove. 

The  argument  for  God's  personality  from 
revelation  may  be  presented,  in  brief,  as  fol- 
lows :  God  is  inan  perfect,  but  to  an  infinite 
degree  ;  and  as  we  know  man  is  a  spirit,  and 
has  a  will,  and  affections,  and  understanding, 
and  a  moral  nature,  and  is  self-conscious,  and 
a  voluntary  agent,  so  is  God ;  but  to  a  degree 
greater  as  the  infinite  exceeds  the  finite,  or 
the  eternal  outweighs  the  temj)oral.  Anthro- 
pomorphism is  discoverable  upon  more  than 
one  page  of  revelation.  "  I  AM  THAT  I  AM," 
are  the  words  which  God  employed  when  He 
sj)ake  of  Himself.  And  who  can  fathom  the 
truths  which  lie  beneath  this  wondrous  dec- 
laration, without  discovering  in  it  a  person- 
ality as  real  as  is  demanded,  and  as  neces- 
sary as  it  is  potential  and  natural  ?  And  it 
is  this  fact,  with  the  others  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  which  leads  us  to  hold  God's  person- 
ality, notwithstanding  the  many  mysteries 
which  invest  it.  For  after  all,  it  is  indisjDut- 
able,  that  whatever  may  be  the  teachings 
of  reason,  behind  all  words  there  is  a  certain 
substratum  of  undeniable  truth.  And  in 
the  relation  in  which  we  now  speak,  the  per- 


PR  A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.        83 

sonality  of  God  is  the  great  rock,  or  truth, 
which  underlies  all  things  in  man,  in  nature, 
in  this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come.  And 
notwithstanding  the  numerous  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  destroy  it,  it  remains  as  an 
abiding  experience. 

But,  is  it  asked,  how  is  this  incomprehen- 
sible fact  to  be  believed  ?  I  answer,  it  is  to  be 
believed  as  a  child  believes  that  from  soil  dark, 
slimy,  and  foetid,  the  lily  comes  clothed  in 
bridal  whiteness,  and  distills  a  most  deli- 
cious fragrance.  To  be  believed,  as  to-day 
men  believe  that  they  are  formed  of  soul  and 
body,  or  mind  and  matter,  and  yet  are  igno- 
rant of  the  where  and  the  how  of  the  nexus. 
To  be  believed,  as  when  at  night  we  look  upon 
some  placid  water,  and  see  reflected  some 
one  or  more  of  the  starry  train,  we  believe 
that  in  those  glittering  dots,  those  trembling 
shining  points,  there  are  concentrated  and 
contracted  to  visible  images,  vast  and  im- 
measurable orbs,  and  at  a  distance  resembling 
that  which  divides  man  and  Grod.  And  yet, 
human  reason,  without  a  demonstration,  cries, 
this  is  impossible  !  it  is  impossible,  that  from 
a  jDutrid  pool,  a  flower  should  be  born  as 
sweet  in  its  fragrance,  and  as  pure  and  beau- 
tiful in  its  color  as  its  soil  is  decayed  and 


84  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

offensive.  It  is  impossible  that  two  such 
existences,  as  the  soul  and  the  body,  should 
be  joined  together,  and  he  in  whom  they  are 
uuited,  be  ignorant  both  of  the  mode  and 
the  place  of  union.  It  is  out  of  all  reason 
that  worlds,  many,  many  times  larger  than 
our  own,  can  be  seen  as  moving  points,  or 
as  wavering  specks !  But  what  is  the  fact  ? 
What  the  truth?  Yon  flowers  have  come 
from  a  slimy  bed  ;  soul  and  body  in  yon 
form  are  united;  stars  or  planets  do  exist; 
and  they  lie  and  glitter  in  the  water  as  a  dia- 
mond of  the  purest  lustre  and  rarest  beauty. 
This  belief  in  God's  personality  is  not 
to  be  ideal,  notional,  or  superficial ;  nor  yet  a 
mere  intellectual  conviction ;  still  less  a  cold 
sentiment  of  the  heart ;  bat  it  is  to  be  a  belief 
positive  and  profound,  and  so  positive  and 
profound  as  to  control,  and  guide,  and  influ- 
ence one  in  all  the  many  and  varied  relations 
which  he  sustains  towards  God  and  man.  It 
is  to  be  a  belief  of  power,  deep-seated  and 
interwoven  into  the  very  tissues  of  man's 
being ;  a  belief,  in  short,  which,  while  it  ele- 
vates the  mind,  and  warms  and  intensifies  the 
finer  sensibilities  of  our  nature,  is  to  imj)el 
one  to  seek  God ;  and  having  found  Him,  to 
breathe  into  His  ear  those  loving  aspirations 


PJ^A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       85 

and  heartfelt  wants,  wliich,  in  a  far  humbler 
manner,  we  are  accustomed  to  pour  into  the 
ear  of  a  human  friend,  or  a  human  person- 
ality. 

Nor,  as  a  belief,  can  it  be  too  greatly  em- 
phasized, any  more  than  it  can  be  too  fre- 
quently reiterated,  or  too  deeply  experienced. 
For  after  all,  here  is  the  whole  struggle  be- 
tween belief  and  unbelief,  or  he  who  would 
and  does  pray,  and  he  who  does  not.  This  is 
the  central  bulwark,  or  the  citadel  of  the  for- 
tress. Bastions,  trenches,  moats,  and  the  nu- 
merous other  defenses  which  encircle  it,  if 
need  be,  all  may  be  abandoned,  but  God's 
personality,  as  it  is  the  central  or  pivotal 
truth  upon  which  all  argument  and  the  teach- 
ings of  revelation  rest,  is  to  be  held ;  and  held 
with  a  firmness  that  knows  no  relaxing,  and 
to  whom  such  words  as  capitulation  and  sur- 
render are  positively  unknown.  For  it  is  our 
estimate  of  this  divine  quality,  which  must 
determine  our  views  of  prayer,  in  its  rela- 
tions to  man  as  well  as  God.  For,  say  God 
is  a  mere  unseen  force,  or  the  life  principle  in 
the  universe,  or  that  He  is  simply  existence, 
or  anything  else  than  a  person,  and  a  distinct 
and  independent  personality ;  and  where,  in 
this  wide,  wide  world  he  w^ho,  with  the  hope 


86  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

of  benefiting  his  condition,  in  whatever  way, 
would  think  of  praying  to  any  such  force — 
principle,  or  ideal  existence  ?  Or  what  inter- 
course is  it  possible  to  hold  with  an  absolute 
^abstraction  ?  True,  an  occult  law  may  secure 
certain  definite  results,  as  the  operation  of 
any  force ;  but  where  the  possibility  of  these 
same  results  becoming  changed,  or  in  any  way 
experiencing  modification  ?  Or  if  God  is 
nothing  more  than  the  soul  of  the  universe, 
how  can  things  be  different  from  what  they 
now  are  ?  Where,  where  the  room  for  the 
display  of  agencies  which  Prayer  presupposes, 
or  for  any  modification  in  that  which  is  be- 
lieved to  be  unintelligent,  and  whose  action 
is  irresponsible  and  independent  ?  Nay,  is  it 
not  because  of  the  dim  and  shadowy  notions, 
which  so  many  have  of  God,  as  to  what  He  is, 
both  in  nature  and  character,  that  He  is  not 
more  frequently  and  persistently  sought  ? 
And  is  it  anything  less  than  the  personality 
of  God  which  makes  prayer  at  all  possible,  or 
available  ?  And  so,  also,  of  answers  to 
prayer.  Just  as  there  is  nothing  either  in- 
viting or  elevating  in  a  mere  existence  or  a 
life  principle,  that  would  induce  one  to  com- 
mune with  it,  so  there  is  nothing  in  these 
things,  whensoever  they  may  be  addressed, 


PRA  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       87 

leading  to  tlie  hope  that  they  may  be  swerved. 
Law  may  and  does  direct,  and  law  is  mighty, 
but  law  cannot  hear;  law  cannot  be  per- 
suaded ;  law  has  no  will ;  nor  can  it  act  of 
itself.  And  so,  likewise,  of  a  certain  life  prin- 
ciple, or  of  any  mere  intelligence,  whatever 
may  be  our  conception  of  it  less  than  per- 
sonal, whether  in  man  or  nature.  It  cannot 
discriminate ;  it  has  no  freedom ;  nor  is  it  ca- 
pable of  diversion.  Men  may  worship  the 
most  grotesque  images,  and  bow  before  a 
shrine,  the  thought  of  which  may  deaden  in- 
stead of  awakening  the  conscience;  but  who 
has  ever  labored  to  pour  out  his  heart 
before  an  unintelligent  cause,  or  of  influ- 
encing, to  any  degree,  mere  life  or  ab- 
stract being  ?  Or  who  has  ever  contemplated 
moving  an  unintelligent,  self-existing  force? 
What  latitude  is  there  here  for  recognition  \ 
Surely  no  self- existent  force  or  principle,  or 
first  cause,  or  pure  being,  is  capable  of  im- 
parting what  true  prayer  involves?  Moral 
favors  are  the  fruits  of  moral  agents,  and 
therefore  they  demand  the  possession  of  mor- 
al attributes  on  the  part  of  him  from  whom 
these  favors  are  sought.  And,  as  has  already 
been  observed,  the  noble  qualities  of  our  na- 
ture, as  gratitude  and  love,  can  have  their 


88  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

exercise  only  as  these  feelings  are  directed, 
not  towards  tilings,  or  mere  existence,  but  to 
a  person.  Who  seriously  contemplates  thanks 
to  the  law  of  gravitation,  or  would  think  of 
propitiating  any  of  the  mere  forces  of  nature  ? 
(But  say  that  God  is  a  Person,  and  is  as  in- 
telligent in  His  personality  as  He  is  personal; 
and  all  His  actions,  whatever  they  may  be, 
are  the  results  of  this  wisdom,  and  that  He  is 
the  governor  of  the  universe ;  that  laws  and 
principles  and  forces  are  merely  His  agents, 
as  the  clouds,  which  do  His  bidding;  then, 
and  only  then,  have  we  reason  to  believe  that 
He  will  not  only  hear  the  pleas  of  His  crea- 
tures, but  that  He  will  allow  their  prayers  to 
enter  into  some  of  His  numerous  plans  and 
designs.  And  since  it  is  the  personality  of 
God  which  gives  room  for  the  exercise  of 
prayer,  it  is  the  denial  of  this  fact  which  not 
only  limits  it  to  a  subjective  action,  but  which 
deprives  it,  also,  as  we  shall  hope  to  learn,  of 
that  wondrous  significance  which  thus  far  it 
has  possessed,  and  which  has  made  it  so  prof-  ^ 
i table  and  endearing  to  the  race. 

Is  it  asked.  How  is  God  to  be  conceived  of 
as  a  person?  In  answering  this  great  and 
difficult  question,  we  would  say:  he  who 
would  have,  as  the  Israelites  at  the  base  of 


PR  A  YER  AMD  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GQD.        89 

Sinai,  a  visible  God,  must  bring  to  remem- 
brance Jesus  Clirist,  as  it  is  in  His  glorious 
person  that  "  God  is  manifest  in  the  flesh."  In 
Him  the  Father  is  revealed.  He  and  the  Father 
are  one.  And  he  who  hath  seen  Him  hath  seen 
the  Father ;  and  "  in  Him  dwelleth  all  the  full- 
ness of  the  godhead  bodily."  But  if  it  be  said  ; 
all  such  conceptions  of  God  as  are  manifest  in 
Jesus  Christ  detract  from  a  true  notion  as  to 
what  God  is,  and  minister  in  a  measure  to 
a  kind  of  idolatry ;  then  v^e  answer,  if  men 
will  not  have  a  visible  representation  of  God, 
but  something  far  less  bounded  by  sense  and 
flesh,  do  not  conceive  of  him  as  a  mere  power, 
nor  yet  as  an  abstraction,  or  as  the  first  cause — 
as  an  unknown  reality — as  a  mighty  some- 
thing, pervading  all  space  as  air  or  atmos- 
phere ;  for  it  is  debatable  whether  our  high- 
est conceptions  of  these  natures,  essences,  or 
powers,  any  the  less  contribute  to  idolatry, 
than  a  contemplation  of  the  royal  person  of 
Jesus  Christ.  If  you  cannot  conceive  of  God, 
and  recognize  Him  in  the  person  of  His  Son, 
then,  borrowing  my  illustrations,  so  far  as 
material  things  can  minister  to  spiritual,  the 
following  process  may  assist  you. 

In  yonder  gallery  there  is  an  organ,  and  as 
when  you  look   upon  that   instrument   and 
5 


90  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Lear  its  sounds,  your  eye  does  not  rest  or  stay 
on  the  iron,  or  wood,  or  metal  of  which  it  may 
be  composed ;  but  as  the  music  rolls  forth,  at 
once  you  invest  wood,  and  pipe,  and  metal, 
and  bellows  with  a  certain  spirit,  and  were 
you  called  upon  to  worship  the  organ,  you 
would  worship  not  the  wood,  nor  the  frame 
nor  the  metal,  but  the  hidden  spirit  to  which 
we  have  referred ;  so,  having  looked  upon  the 
world,  and  as  you  see  the  sun,  and  moon,  and 
stars,  or  nature,  or  cause  and  effect,  or  love, 
or  power,  do  not  here  pause  but  as  you  have 
endowed  the  instrument  with  what,  for  con- 
venience, we  have  termed  a  spirit,  in  like 
manner  conceive  this  same  sun,  and  moon, 
stars,  all  nature  —  everything  in  fact  as  en- 
dowed with  a  similar  spirit,  and  one  not  only 
in  perfect  harmony  with  the  objects  or  events 
which  you  may  behold,  but  with  one  which 
as  fully  insinuates  itself  into  all  you  may 
there  have  contemplated,  as  tone  or  note  in- 
sinuated itself  through  pij)e  of  wood  or  iron  ; 
and  regard  this  spirit,  this  indefinable,  but 
knowable  something — conceive  it  as  God. 

Or,  in  your  dwelling,  you  have  a  beautiful 
painting ;  and,  as  you  examine  it,  you  feel  that 
some  painter  has  embodied  in  it  his  very  self; 
and  yet  the  result  of  his  drawing  and  color- 


PR  A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONAL!  7'  V  OF  GOD.     91 

ing  is  no  more  tlie  painter  than  you  are  he. 
And  as  you  study  it,  you  cannot  help  tracing 
in  stroke  and  shading  the  artist's  purpose. 
Nay,  as  you  look  upon  it  and  begin  to  master 
its  representations,  you  discover  in  every  form 
and  figure,  as  it  were,  the  soul  of  the  artist ; 
and  so  much  so,  it  may  be,  as  to  feel  that  he  is 
there  with  you,  and  you  see  him  drawing 
his  lines  or  spreading  his  colors. 

In  like  manner,  stand  before  nature  ;  con- 
template what  God  has  made,  or  what  He 
has  done  or  is  doing ;  and  as  you  thus  medi- 
tate, as  with  the  artist  in  the  picture,  you 
will  not  only  discover  God,  distinct  from  His 
work,  but  you  will  meet  with  a  Spirit  far 
mightier,  holier,  and  grander,  above  that 
which  the  painting  reveals,  as  the  Infinite  is 
above  the  finite,  or  the  Creator  is  above  the 
creature ;  and  that  Spirit — that  Personality  is 
God.  Such  is  another  channel  through  which 
the  loving  heart  can  pass  to  God. 

But  though  nature  may  be  thus  suggestive, 
as  we  have  said,  if  we  would  know  and  see 
God  as  He  is,  it  is  accomplished,  as  we  gaze 
upon  and  contemplate  the  person  of  His  Son 
Jesus  Christ.  And  observe,  as  the  late  Dr. 
Guthrie  remarks,  how  "  the  Infinite  is  brought 
within  the  limits  of  our  narrow  understand- 


92  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

ing.  The  Invisible  is  revealed  to  my  sight ; 
I  can  touch  Him,  hear  Him,  see  Him,  speak 
to  Him.  In  the  hand  He  holds  out  to  save 
me,  I  have  w^hat  my  ov^n  can  grasp.  In  that 
eye  bent  on  me,  vs^hether  bedewed  with  tears 
or  beaming  with  affection,  I  see  Divine  love 
in  a  form  I  feel  I  can  understand.  God  ad- 
dresses me  in  human  tones ;  God  stands  before 
me  in  the  fashion  of  a  man ;  and,  paradoxical 
as  it  appears,  when  I  fall  at  His  feet  to  say, 
with  Thomas,  ^  My  Lord  and  my  God,'  I  am 
an  image- worshiper,  yet  no  idolater ;  for  the 
Being  before  whom  I  bend  is  not  a  mere  man, 
nor  a  graven  image,  nor  a  dead  thing,  but  the 
living,  loving,  eternal,  "  express  image "  of 
the  "-  Invisible  God." 

But  to  return.  From  what  has  been  pre- 
viously said,  concluding  that  there  is  a  God, 
and  that  He  is  not,  as  some  would  have  us  be- 
lieve, a  mere  existence,  an  abstraction,  or  the 
distributing  force  and  thinking  jDower  of  the 
globe, — the  sum  of  creation  ;  but  a  Person,  and 
as  fully  distinct  from  what  He  has  done  and  is 
doing,  as  man  is  from  what  He  may  have  done 
or  wrought ;  in  His  relations  to  the  petitions 
of  His  creatures,  the  following,  we  believe, 
may  then  be  reasonably  predicated  of  Him. 

First.  That  He  would  provide  some  method 


PR  A  YER  AND  THE  PERSONALITY  OF  GOD.       93 

by  wliicli  such  as  are  made  in  His  image 
might  commune  with  Him. 

Second,  That  He  would  listen  to  the  de- 
sires of  such  as  He  is,  ^.d,  of  persons,  though 
they  may  merit  no  such  favor.  That  God 
would  trifle  with,  or  be  indifferent  to  man's 
deepest  convictions,  mock  his  sublimest  mo- 
tives, or  scorn  his  holiest  and  noblest  efforts, 
is  as  illogical  as  it  is  irrational,  and  as  irra- 
tional as  it  is  unnatural. 

Tldrd,  Since  prayer  is  an  element  of  our 
common  nature,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
He,  who  thus  fashioned  us,  would  not  only 
provide  for  its  exercise,  but  would  make  some 
provision  also  by  which  it  might  be  gratified. 
If  God  has  made  nothing  in  vain,  as  all  who 
believe  in  His  nature  and  character  must 
admit  (and  He  is  love),  never  would  the 
desire  or  the  instinct  of  prayer  have  been 
imj)lanted  in  man,  unless  He  had  made 
abundant  provision  for  its  gratification. 

Fourth.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  also, 
since  God  is  Omnipotent,  He  has  the  power 
to  answer  such  requests  as  His  creatures  may 
make  of  Him,  provided  they  ask  in  the  right 
way,  and  for  those  favors  or  mercies  which 
do  not  conflict  with  any  of  His  special  de- 
signs or  purposes. 

Fiftli,  Since  God  is  the  Author  and  Creator 


94  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

of  all  things,  and  the  intelligent  Author  and 
Creator,  it  is  reasonable  to  say,  that  should  He 
be  pleased  to  answer  the  prayers  of  His  ser- 
vants, they  would  not  interfere  with  the  oper- 
ations of  His  providence  as  related  to  other 
things.  In  the  government  of  a  wise  ruler 
there  are  no  antagonisms. 

Finally.  On  the  supposition  that  prayer 
is  a  power  in  the  universe,  and  God  is  intel- 
ligent, as  He  is,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  say, 
that  when  the  world  was  called  into  being, 
and  all  things  were  so  adjusted  as  ultimately 
to  secure  His  honor  and  glory.  He  would 
have  made  full  provision  for  the  play  of  this 
power  as  for  any  other  force. 

All  this  every  unbiased  mind,  we  think, 
will  admit.  What  inquiry,  then,  just  here, 
more  important  than  this  ?  Are  these 
and  similar  demands  presumptive,  or  have 
the  hypothetical  become  categorical,  and  the 
conjectural,  demonstrative  \  Are  these  state- 
ments mere  theories  \  or  has  the  theoretical 
become  changed  into  the  actual,  and  the  sup- 
posititious into  the  unanswerable  and  undeni- 
able ?  In  other  language,  has  God  met  these 
rational  demands  ?  An  inquiry  which  leads 
us  to  ask :  first.  Whether  God  can  answer 
the  prayers  of  His  children?  and  secondly, 
Whether  He  has  thus  done  ? 


LECTURE   III. 


CAIS^    GOD    ANSWER   PEAYER  ? 


III. 


OR 
CAJS^    GOD    AIS^SWEE   PEAYER  ? 

Whatever  may  be  said  confirrQatory  of 
the  proposition  that  God  can  answer  prayer, 
it  is  also  to  be  remembered — 

First.  No  one  can  prove  that  it  is  im 
possible  for  Him,  who  is  All-wise  and  All 
powerful,  to  allow  the  prayers  of  His  crea 
tures  to  enter  into  His  plans  and  designs 
Arguments  presumptive  may  be  mentioned 
from  w^hich  deductions  might  be  made  point 
ing  to  this  conviction,  still  it  cannot  be  de 
monstrated ;  and  particularly  in  the  form 
and  with  that  fullness  with  which  a  skeptic 
ia  prayer  would  have  it  established. 

Second,  Nothing  can  be  derived  from  the 
character  of  God,  which  would  make  it  impos- 
sible or  improbable  for  Him  to  answer  pray- 
er ;  rather,  since  God  is  Omnipotent,  He 
has  the  power;  and  as  He  is  Benevolent,  He 
has  the  disposition ;  and  as  He  is  Infinite, 
He  cannot  be  limited  in  any  of  His  opera- 
tions. And  what  w^ith  man  may  be  pre- 
5* 


98  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

sumj)tive  or  possible,  with  an  infinite  being 
may  not  only  be  probable,  but  certain. 

Tliird.  Since  to  answer  prayer  involves,  as 
it  is  said,  new  complications  and  difficulties, 
physical  and  moral;  peradventure  God  can 
answer  it,  His  nature  and  character  would 
be  invested  with  far  greater  majesty  and 
sublimity,  than  to  believe  that  He  cannot 
answer  it. 

Fourth.  If  God  did  not  answer  prayer,  we 
have  no  reason  to  believe  that  its  practice 
would  have  been  so  universal ;  nor  would 
the  testimony  of  men  to  the  fact  have  been  so 
willing,  clear,  and  general. 

Fifth.  So  far  as  God  has  revealed  His  feel- 
ings and  sympathies  towards  the  race.  He 
has  said  that  He  would  answer  prayer ;  in 
other  words,  we  have  yet  to  learn  that  it  is 
not  His  will. 

But  to  the  incpiry :  Can  God  answer 
Prayer  ? 

No  sooner  are  we  brought  face  to  face 
with  this  important  question,  than  we  meet 
with  thoughts  which,  even  after  mature  consid- 
eration, seem  to  invest  this  proposition  with 
grave  doubt ;  and  which  have  found  lodgment 
in  the  hearts  not  merely  of  those  who  deny 
the  existence  of  a  moral  governor  over  the 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.      99 

universe,  but  among  tliose  also  wlio  daily  aim 
to  invest  God  witli  that  glory  and  honor  which 
they  believe  to  be,  at  all  times,  so  justly  His 
due.  And  the  form  which  this  doubt  has 
assumed  may,  in  general,  be  summed  up 
as  follows :  To  say  that  God  can  answer 
prayer,  involves  on  the  part  of  man  tlie  sup- 
position that  it  is  possible  for  the  creature  to 
change  the  Creator's  will ;  and  on  the  part  of 
God,  limitation  in  His  numerous  plans  and 
purposes ;  and  on  the  part  of  nature,  the  con- 
stant modification  of  its  multiple  and  varying 
laws  in  man's  interest :  whereas  God  has 
plans  of  action  entirely  independent  of  the 
will  of  His  servants,  and  He  is  also  unlimited ; 
and  in  every  realm,  all  things  at  the  beginning 
were  established  in  accordance  with  law;  and 
therefore,  it  is  no  more  possible  to  change 
law,  than  it  is  possible  for  Him,  who  is  self- 
existent,  to  annihilate  His  beingj 

Such,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  tone  of  the 
doubt  which  is  breathed  against  prayer,  and 
breathed  with  a  sincerity  on  the  part  of  some, 
worthy  not  only  of  the  highest  respect,  but 
also  of  the  gravest  consideration. 

It  does*  not  come  within  the  plan  which  we 
have  proposed  to  ourselves  here  to  pause,  in 
order  to  note,  still  less  answer  the  numer- 


100  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

ous  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  the  doctrine  of  prayer.  But  as 
there  is  a  subtle  error  underlying  the 
majority  of  these  would-be  potential  ob- 
jections to  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  it  is  wise, 
perhaps,  at  this  particular  period  in  our  in- 
vestigations, that  we  give  it  that  candid  con- 
sideration which  every  disbeliever  in  prayer 
has  a  right  to  demand,  and  which  its  relation 
to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  true  doc- 
trine of  prayer  seems  so  imperatively  to  re- 
quire. The  ruling  error  to  which  we  now 
refer,  in  substance,  may  be  thus  expressed: 
God  governs  the  world  in  obedience  to  cer- 
tain laws  ;  and  these  laws,  both  in  their 
relation  to  man  and  nature,  were  fixed,  when 
all  things  were  fixed,  at  the  beginning ;  and 
therefore,  in  their  operation,  they  are  ever 
uniform  and  unchanging.  Indeed,  through- 
out all  these  there  extends  an  inevitable 
chain  of  causation,  which  never  has  been  nor 
can  be  interrupted ;  and  nothing  happens 
without  a  cause,  traceable  to  natural  law. 
Since,  then,  the  universe  is  thus  governed,  and 
governed  by  a  definite  system  of  laws,  im- 
mutable and  fixed,  there  is  no  conceivable 
place  for  the  interference  of  any  other  force 
or  power,  as  prayer   is   said  to  be  ;   conse- 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    101 

quently,  it  is  not  only  illogical,  but  irrational 
to  suppose  that  God,  because  of  tlie  mere  will 
of  a  creature,  would,  if  He  could,  thus  intro- 
duce another  force  into  the  universe,  or 
change  any  of  His  laws ;  on  the  other  hand, 
all  things  mu^t  remain  as  when  primarily 
called  into  being.  Let  it  be  said  that  there 
is  room  in  the  universe  for  another  force,  or 
that  God  can  be  diverted  from  His  original 
purpose,  or  that  laws  established  can  be 
changed ;  then  the  universe  is  not  only  liable 
any  moment  to  be  thrown  into  utter  con- 
fusion, but  the  idea  that  all  things  were 
originally  determined,  immediately  disap- 
pears. It  is,  then,  the  relation  of  prayer  to 
established  law,  to  which  we  are  now  brought. 
Let  this  topic  occupy  our  present  attention. 

And  if  we  have  fairly  given  the  animus,  per- 
haps, of  the  most  influential  objection  against 
the  possibility  of  God  being  moved  by  the 
pleadings  of  His  creatures,  on  those  points 
where  there  is  any  room  for  honest  and 
heartfelt  difference  at  the  outset  of  this  in- 
quiry, it  might  be  well  to  remark  that  this 
position  assumes — 

1.  That  fixed  order  and  sequence  cannot 
possibly  be  influenced,  though  that  influence 
be  exerted  by  a  personal  God  ;    that  a  con- 


102  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

scious  Personality  is  far  inferior  in  dignity  to 
the  whole  world  of  matter. 

2.  "  That  all  the  events  of  this  world's  his- 
tory, however  intimately  connected  with  man's 
happiness,  are  dependent  for  their  accomplish- 
ment on  physical  laws  only,  rather  than  upon 
those  laws  liable  to  be  modified  in  their  opera- 
tion, by  the  intervention  or  volition  of  moral 
agents.' ' 

3.  That  God  has  no  liberty  of  action ;  but, 
in  all  His  relations  to  the  universe,  is  bound 
by  law  as  immutable  and  unchangeable  as 
are  those  laws  which,  it  is  said,  should  God 
answer  prayer,  would  be  disturbed. 

4.  It  is  assumed,  also,  that  it  is  impossible  for 
God  to  make  provision  for  the  exercise  of  the 
prayer  of  His  children,  as  forces  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  and  that  all  the  modes  of  His  action, 
and  of  the  operation  of  nature,  have  come 
under  man's  observance. 

5.  That  God  has  wound  up  the  universe  as 
a  clock,  and  has  retired  from  its  superin- 
tendence ;  and  the  results  or  developments 
which  to-day  greet  us,  are  the  product  of 
agencies  long  since  set  in  operation,  as  the 
hour  which  the  clock  now  reveals  is  the 
result  of  this  morning's  winding. 

6.  Should   God    interfere    with   the    pre- 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    103 

existent  and  established  laws  of  the  uni- 
verse, the  place  or  the  spot  of  this  inter- 
ference is  discoverable  by,  or  open  to,  the 
cognizance  of  man. 

Such  are  some  of  the  assumptions  which 
this  general  objection  involves ;  and  they  are 
as  gratuitous  as  they  are  derogatory  to  the 
nature  and  character  of  God. 

What,  then,  are  God's  relations  to  fixed  or 
established  law  ?  Here  let  us  go  back  to  the 
beginning  of  things,  and  yet  only  so  far  as  a 
reference  to  them  may  be  necessary  for  a 
proper  understanding  of  the  point  under  in- 
vestigation. 

God  exists ;  and  He  is  not  only  Omniscient, 
Omnipotent,  Omnipresent,  Benevolent,  Immu- 
table, and  Eternal,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  He  is 
a  Person ;  nor  in  every  proper  conception  of 
Him  is  His  personality  any  the  less  required, 
than  that  He  should  be  invested  with  the  at- 
tributes which  we  have  just  named.  He  cre- 
ated the  world.  It  was  His  omnipotent  fiat 
which  called  all  things  into  being;  and  now 
having  called  all  things  into  being,  He  gave 
to  or  associated  with  them,  whether  things 
animate  or  inanimate,  material  or  spiritual, 
perishable  or  eternal,  certain  properties  or 
principles  which  should  belong  to  them  as 


104  VEDDER  LECTURED. 

long  as  they  remain  what  tliey  are.  Nor 
can  these  original  properties  be  divorced 
from  the  primal  objects  with  which,  at  the 
beginning,  they  were  connected,  any  more 
than  a  robe  can  be  washed  without  wetting 
it.  In  fact,  we  cannot  conceive  of  a  universe 
as  worthy  the  hand  of  God,  unless  the  laws 
which,  with  every  act  of  His  creative  skill. 
He  had  interwoven  in  it,  were  not  constant 
and  unchangeable.  It  is  their  in  variable- 
ness which,  at  every  period  of  the  world, 
has  called  forth  from  so  many,  of  every 
degree  of  faith  and  nationality,  their  highest 
praises. 

But  when  it  is  said  that  God,  at  the  begin- 
ning, gave  to  everything  which  He  then  called 
into  being  a  j^eculiar  and  special  law,  or  so 
happily  adjusted  cause  and  effect  as  to  secure 
results  which  are  daily  witnessed,  and  which 
have  commanded  the  admiration  of  all  who 
have  studied  them ;  it  is  not  meant  that  these 
same  laws,  in  whatever  realm  they  may  be 
discoverable,  or  whatever  may  be  their  mode 
of  operation,  are  iiTevocable ;  or  that  they  act 
or  possess  a  force  inde23endent  of  the  will  by 
which  they  were  begotten ;  or  that  they  have 
an  inherent  and  ungoverned  energy^  No  such 
ideas  are  designed  to  be  suggest edT  vWhat  is 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE,    105 

I^v — we  mean  when  it  is  defined  in  relation 
to  tlie  topic,  and  the  comprehensive  term  with 
which  it  now  presents  itself? 

Law  is  not  a  self-sustained,  invisible,  and 
immanent  force,  whose  presence  is  discover- 
able through  the  slow  development  of  ex-. 
perience ;  nor  is  it  any  irresponsible  energy, 
whose  cause  of  action  is  as  uninterpretable 
as  its  fruits  may  be  varied.  For,  say  Law  is 
some  self-sustained,  invisible  force,  or  an  in- 
herent and  independent  energy,  and  not  only 
is  the  nature  of  God  impugned,  but  we  re- 
move Deity  from  the  universe,  and  virtually 
make  Law,  in  this  connection,  His  rival ;  and 
God  can  have  no  rival.  If  God  is  anything 
He  is  everything,  ^or  can  He  have  such  a 
thing  as  a  competitor.  Opposition  may  exist 
and  revel  in  the  plane  of  the  finite,  but  it  has 
no  place  in  the  infinite — the  very  term  ex- 
cludes it.  Self-existence  and  independence, 
therefore,  are  God's  prerogatives,  and  His 
alone.  Indeed,  as  in  the  very  idea  of  self, 
the  existence  of  that  which  is  not  self  is  in- 
volved, so  in  our  idea  of  God,  as  only  He  is 
self -existent,  all  else  must  be  contingent  and 
dependent.  True,  in  Law  conceived  as  already 
•  expressed,  we  may  have  pov»^er  —  not  neces- 
sarily intelligent  power ;  and  action,  but  not 


106  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

will  or  volition.  Force,  in  fact,  is  the  pro- 
duct of  will,  nor  are  we  capable  of  having 
any  other  conception  of  it.  If  we .  run  our 
eye  down  along  the  stream  whose  waters  have 
borne  to  us  the  ideas  which  we  associate  with 
the  word  force,  we  shall  find  that  all  our  notions 
of  its  nature  have  their  origin  in  what  has 
been  termed  "our  own  consciousness  of  liv- 
ing effort ; "  and  as  is  that  effort,  so  does  it  re- 
side in  the  divine  or  human  personality.  As 
such,  force  can  have  no  other  origin.  And 
though  there  may  be  difficulty  in  showing,  as 
in  some  phenomena  in  nature,  just  where  per- 
sonality may  appear,  still  its  existence  will 
none  the  less  be  a  fact ;  for  the  fact  may  be 
discoverable,  although  its  interpretation  be 
unknown.  The  force  which  drives  the  loco- 
motive on  its  rapid  career  is  no  independent 
self-existent  force,  any  more  than  the  law  is 
the  wisdom  which  constitutes  it;  but  it  is  a 
combination  of  forces,  whose  seat  is  not  in  any 
self -existent  or  vital  potency ;  but  in  the  mind 
which  conceived  that  combination,  and  the 
will  which  gave  it  effect.  All  its  power  is  due 
to  will,  or  the  conscious  intelligence  which 
produced  it.  For,  separate  the  will  which 
produced  that  combination,  resulting  in  its 
motion,  and  the  engine  is  as  dead  and  power- 


PRA  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    107 

less  as  though  all  its  parts  were  in  their  na- 
tive beds.  True,  all  the  individual  forces 
which  entered  into  its  construction  are  there, 
but  never  would  this  new  force,  or  merging  of 
potentialities  have  been  develo|)ed  without 
an  act  of  will.  +  In  one  sense,  therefore,  forceis 
intelligence.  And  what  is  thus  true  of  a 
compound  force,  is  true  of  an  elementary  or 
primary  one.  As  the  one  would  not  have 
been  without  volition,  no  more  can  the  other 
be  without  the  exercise  of  the  same  agency. 
Centralization  does  not  destroy  the  fact  of 
previous  unity,  any  more  than  unity  necessa- 
rily forbids  the  possibility  of  combination. 
When  we  are  confronted  with  force  as  such, 
so  far  as  its  existence  is  concerned,  the  only 
real  question  before  us  is,  whose  will  does  it 
express  ?  Is  it  the  product  of  divine  or  hu- 
man volition  ?  Or  is  it  immediate  or  mediate  ? 
That  mind  governs  matter  is  no  new  truth., 
And  mind  is  not  only  itself  a  force,  but  it  is  • 
also  the  generator  of  force.  All  or  every 
mind-product,  whether  subjective  or  object- 
ive, still  is  force.  Nor  does  result  effect  the 
original  essence  or  possession.  And  volition 
is  purely  dynamic,  whether  it  be  direct  or  in- 
direct, and  when  wisely  put  forth  it  can  no 
more   fail  of  results  than  the   operation   of 


108  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

any  secondary  or  mediate  j)ower.  Force,  also, 
is  the  measurement  of  purpose,  and  with  this 
word  we  never  associate  such  ideas  as  inde- 
pendence or  irrelation,  rather  dependence,  de- 
sign, and  will. 

But  if  Law  is  not  a  self- sustained  invisible 
force,  nor  an  inherent  and  irresponsible  ener- 
gy, it  is  asked ;  what  then  is  it,  in  relation  to 
the  investigations  before  us  ?  ^^  And  generic- 
ally.  Law  means  a  rule  of  action,  or  an  enact- 
ment, and  can  be  predicated  of,  or  ascribed  to, 
an  intelligent  agent.-'  But  the  term  is  used 
figuratively,  to  describe  an  observed  order  of 
sequence,  or  the  uniformity  of  antecedent  and 
consequent,  which  everywhere  is  discoverable 
in  the  universe.  When  we  speak  of  the  law 
of  gravitation,  we  mean  the  now  admitted 
fact  that  all  bodies  known  to  us  attract  each 
other  with  a  force,  which  varies  inversely  as 
the  square  of  the  distance,  and  directly  as  the 
mass  of  the  attracting  body.  But,  and  more 
specifically,  since  Law  suggests  intelligence, 
and  therefore  can  be  ascribed  only  to  an  in- 
telligent agent,  Law  is  the  principle  which 
guides  the  Creator  in  His  government  of  the 
universe ;  or  the  expressed  will  of  a  person  im- 
pressed on  the  subject-matter,  and  which  is 
revealed   as   the   subject-matter  acts.     It   is, 


PRA  YER  AMD  ITS  RE  LA  T/OJVS  TO  SCIENCE.    109 

therefore,  tlie  mode  in  wliicli  God  decided 
matter  and  its  forces  should  act,  and  be 
acted  upon.     Such  is.  Laiv. 

As  often,  therefore,  as  we  are  called  upon 
to  speak  of  Law,  or  to  consider  either  its 
existence  or  its  fruit,  we  are  not  speaking  of 
some  indefinite,  irregular,  and  inconstant 
action ;  nor  are  we  introduced  to  any  blind, 
selfish,  ignorant,  and  irrestrainable  power ; 
but  to  will,  to  powerful  will,  and  the  free 
will  of  a  wise,  intelligent,  and  sympathetic 
Being.  We  are  brought  face  to  face  with  a 
Person,  a  distinct  Personality,  and  in  whom 
the  power  of  choice  resides,  not  as  a  dead 
and  lifeless  prerogative,  or  as  an  attribute 
which  is  never  to  be  called  into  action,  but 
as  one  whose^  exercise  is  fully  as  pleasurable 
to  the  actor  as  is  the  exercise  of  any  other 
endowment. 

^  In  brief,,  then^  Law  is  God's  method  of 
action-— His  will  made  manifest — His  pur- 
pose. It  is  Deity  speaking,  and  in  utter- 
ances as  may  be  the  nature  and  the  working 
of  the  thing  or  object  upon  which  His  will 
primarily  was  centred.  And  yet  it  is  not  mere 
will,  but  it  is  the  action  of  will ;  nor  is  it 
inherent  power,  but  the  action  of  power  con- 
ferred ;  and  hence  it  is  objective  and  not  sub- 


/ 


110  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

jective,  or  contingent  and  not  necessary.  In 
its  relation,  therefore,  to  phenomena,  it  is  not 
a  cause,  but  an  effect — a  sequence,  a  result — 
and  consequently  it  is  not  uncaused,  but 
caused ;  for  say  that  Law  is  uncaused,  then 
its  existence  must  be  a  necessary  existence,  as 
that  which  exists  by  necessity  is  self-existent. 
But  since  it  can  be  shown  that  there  is  a 
Deity  who  exists  entirely  independent  of  the 
universe ;  if  Law  is  also  self-existent,  then  we 
have  a  duality  of  self -existences — a  conclusion 
as  difficult  to  believe  as  it  is  illogical  to  accept. 
Deity,  likewise,  is  personal ;  Law,  as  expressed, 
is  impersonal ;  we  speak  of  Deity  as  He ;  our 
language  of  Law  is  it ;  with  Deity  we  ever 
associate  the  attributes  of  volition  and  free- 
dom, while  no  one  thinks  of  connecting  any 
such  qualities  with  Law.  Law,  then,  is  not 
in  antagonism,  nor  is  it  in  any  way  incon- 
sistent Avith  the  idea  of  a  supreme  personal 
Will.  It  forbids  no  such  thought,  nor  does  it 
militate  against  any  such  conception ;  rather, 
as  thought  is  inconceivable  without  a  thinker, 
and  contrivance  without  a  contriver,  so  is  Law 
inconceivable  without  a  Legislator.  This  it 
presupposes ;  it  presupiposes  a  personality ;  it 
presupposes  will;  nor^can  it  by" any  possi- 
bility inhere  in  brute  matter.     Let  there  be 


PRA  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    \\\ 

eliminated  from  the  conception  of  Law  tlie 
idea  of  will,  and  the  problems  which  we  are 
called  upon  to  solve  are  not  only  that  Law 
is  self-existent  and  self-maintaining,  but  that 
the  power  from  which  it  primarily  came  so 
willed,  or  so  made  it,  as  in  the  future  to  be 
beyond  the  possibility  of  improvement.  And 
this  cannot  be  demonstrated.  Scientists  may 
be  able  and  do  trace  effects  up  to  theii>-b<6^ 
ginnings,  just  as  explorers  follow  rivers  up  to 
their  sources ;  but  as  with  the  one,  so  with 
the  other — there  they  rest ;  and  while  the  lat- 
ter may  account  for  the  abundance  of  water 
which  they  may  see  by  the  pouring  in  of 
numerous  streams,  though  ignorant  of  their 
rise,  the  other  may  explain  the  phenomena 
with  which  they  are  confronted,  by  denomi- 
nating  them  as  certain  effects  or  causes;  nor 
have  they  any  solution  to  their  cause  or  force, 
anymore  than  explorers  then  may  know,  why 
a  stream  should  intersect  a  river  here  and 
not  there,  or  there  and  not  here. 

The  utmost  that  Science  can  say  is,  things 
are  as  they  are,  because  they  are ;  or  certain 
effects  follow  from  certain  causes ;  or  certain 
causes  jDrecede  certain  effects.  This  is  the 
limit  and  the  extent  of  its  empire ;  and  there- 
fore, so  far  as  the  fact  of  causation  is  con 


112  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

cerned,  or  the  wliy  of  its  existence,  it  is  for 
another  and  a  far  different  oracle  to  speak. 
All  that  Science  has  accomplished  in  the 
world  is  the  tracing  of  cause  back  to  the  in- 
dependent action  of  will.  This,  we  are  as- 
sured, is  the  only  ultimate  cause  which  it 
recognizes.  And  when  it  speaks  of  causation, 
it  is  not  as  a  blind,  unintelligent  existence, 
but  as  intelligence  itself.  With  the  scientist, 
ca.usation,  if  it  means  anything,  means  su- 
premacy, and  the  supremacy  of  personal  in- 
telligence.  and  will  over  material  things.  It 
means  mastery.  And  if  it  is  true  that,  so  far 
as  natural  laws  are  known  to  him,  they  are 
used  for  the  accomplishment  of  special  pur- 
poses, is  it  any  the  less  true  that  a  Higher 
intelligence  cannot  also  use  laws  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  His  special  purposes  ? 

Seeing,  then,  that  Law  is  but  a  name  for 
the  modes  of  the  Divine  will  or  operations,  and 
that  it  is  a  derivative  and  not  self -existent,  and 
differs  from  God  as  thought  expressed  differs 
from  the  thinker,  or  the  thing  fashioned  from 
the  hand  that  fashioned  it — if  the  universe,  in 
all  its  multiplied  development  or  nature,  is 
the  sum  of  God's  work,  and  the  forces  or  laws 
connected  with  it  are  the  expressions  of  His 
will  concerning  its  operations,  where  the  un- 


'RA  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    113 

reasonableness  of  saying  that  tliis  same  universe, 
with  its  numerous  and  varied  laws,  cannot  be 
controlled  or  modii&ed  \  nay,  that  these  same 
forces,  these  laws — this  will,  if  need  be,  can- 
not be  changed  ?  And  can  a  Personal  Grod, 
an  Absolute  Sovereign,  be  otherwise  than 
free  and  untrammelled  in  His  actions  %  Shall 
Almighty  Power  be  denied  the  exercise  of 
those  prerogatives,  which  it  is  man's  greatest 
wealth  to  wield  ?  Shall  liberty  of  will,  or 
the  power  of  choice  be  refused  the  Creator, 
when  it  is  His  grandest  gift  to  the  creature  ? 
He  who  holds  the  reins,  shall  not  He  guide 
the  steeds  ?  We  do  not  so  understand  God's 
being  or  His  nature,  or  that  such  are  His 
relations  to  the  world  at  large.  If,  then,  the 
laws  of  nature  are  the  channels  through 
which  Grod  discloses  the  methods  in  which  He 
is  pleased  to  act,  or  the  manifest  expressions 
of  Divine  will,  and  if  they  manifest  the 
tendency  or  the  workings  of  the  thing  in 
which  this  same  will  is  revealed,  shall  there 
not  be  accorded  to  Him  that  freedom  of  ac- 
tion, that  liberty  and  choice,  the  possession 
of  which  is  man's  highest  boast  and  crowning 
glory  ?  Surely,  since  God  is  not  a  myth  nor 
an  idea,  but  a  person,  a  distinct,  conscious 
Personality,  under  no  circumstances,  still  less 
6 


114  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

in  the  relation  in  which  we  speak  of  Him,  is 
His  synonym  necessity  or  subjection  ;  but 
wisdom,  intelligence,  volition,  free  will.  It 
is  not  compulsion,  nor  bondage,  nor  fate,  but 
spontaneity,  freedom,  liberty.  And  as  this  is 
God's  true  character,  He  can  arrest  or  can 
continue,  can  abbreviate  or  lengthen,  can  add 
or  diminish,  modify  or  change,  as  may  be  His 
P  sovereign  pleasure.  And  in  the  exercise  of 
'  God's  sovereignty  and  freedom  were  a  change 
to  be  made,  this  seeming  departure  from  His 
previous  purpose  would  be  no  infringement 
of  law,  for  the  reason  that  law  is  His  will, 
and  only  so  long  as  it  is  such  can  law  be  law. 
When  God  ceases  to  reveal  Himself  througji 
nature,  as  is  now  discoverable  through  the 
harmonious  law  of  gravitation,  or  through  any 
other  known  physical  force,  her  laws  cease  to 
J)e  laws.  As,  when  He  breathes,  the  winds 
Blow,  and  when  Pie  speaks  the  v/aves  are 
stilled  ;  so  it  is  His  will  upon  which  all  things 
depend,  and  to  w^hich  all  things  are  obedient ; 
unless  we  say  God  has  abandoned  the  uni- 
verse, or  has  no  will  in  regard  to  its  end  or 
establishment,  or  that  the  clay  is  greater  than 
the  hand  that  molds  it.  And  these  thoughts 
/  do  not  accord  with  our  idea  of  an  omniscient, 
benevolent,  and  omnipotent  Being. 


PRA  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    115 

As  Law,  then,  in  its  relations  to  the  material 
univer  se,  i^imply  the  will  of  God,  we  ask, — 
May  not  God  so  interpose  or  modify  His  will, 
or  re-combine  or  re-arrange,  if  need  be,  the 
laws  of  nature,  that  peculiar  results  may  be 
secured  and  the  universe  not  become  de- 
ranged %  Certainly  the  power  is  His  as  well  as 
the  privilege.  But  will  He,  especially  in  obe- 
dience to  the  requests  of  men  %  So  far  as  God 
is  concerned,  if  He  is  omnipotent,  no  barrier 
can  hinder  Him  ;  and  if  He  is  benevolent,  and 
is  ever  seeking  the  welfare  of  His  children, 
He  may  be  disposed  thus  to  act,  and  the 
more  so  if  it  is  for  their  good.     But  will  He  % 

Now  whether  God  will  change  any  of  His 
numerous  purposes,  which  He  has  already 
disclosed  in  His  relations  to  the  world,  espe- 
cially as  they  are  readable  in  the  distinct  utter- 
ances of  nature's  laws,  no  one,  from  any  merely 
(^p?w?'^  considerations,  can  possibly  determine ; 
nor  have  we  any  method  of  knowing.  *'  Canst 
thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  Canst  thou 
find  out  the  Almighty  to  perfection  ?  There  is 
no  searching  of  His  understanding.  His  ways 
are  past  finding  out !  Who  knoweth  His 
will  ? "  Nor  can  any  information  on  this 
point  be  ascertained  from  considerations  of 
His  immutability.     For  when  it  is  said  God 


116  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

is  immutable,  it  is  not  meant  tliat  tlie  power 
or  possibility  of  change  is  not  His,  but  He  is 
ever  the  same,  both  in  the  aims  and  princi- 
ples of  His  government.  And  on  the  other 
hand,  if  God  is  omniscient,  there  is  no  reason 
to  believe  an  occasion  will  ever  arise  in  His 
government,  where  such  a  necessity  as  change 
of  action  will  appear;. all  things  were  estab- 
lished by  Him  at  the  beginning. 

But  while  all  this  is  unmistakably  true,  it  is 
to  be  observed,  when  it  is  said  all  things  were 
fixed  at  the  beginning,  and  that  the  universe, 
in  its  constant  un foldings,  is  simply  the  dis- 
closure of  the  pre-established  purposes  of  a 
wise  and  benevolent  Being ;  and  that  God  is  a 
Person,  and  is  invested  with  all  those  varied 
attributes  which  characterize  individuality, 
and  in  the  sum  of  which  all  genuine  person- 
ality consists,  and  therefore  cannot  know  any 
such  experience  as  interference  or  restraint; 
and  that  the  numerous  laws  of  nature,  in  what- 
ever realm  they  may  be  seen,  are  the  expressions 
of  His  will ;  and  should  He  so  desire.  He  could  - 
alter  or  modify  His  will^  as  it  has  been  made 
known  to  us  by  means  of  whatever  phenome- 
na ;  and  that  it  is  not  only  possible  for  Him  to 
hear  the  requests  of  men,  but  if  He  so  deter- 
mine, to  allow  them  to  enter  into  His  plans ;  it 


PRA  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    117 

is  not  meant,  that  should  He  so  do  the  universe, 
which  is  now  so  harmonious  in  its  movements, 
is  to  be  overturned  or  disturbed ;  and  in  those 
portions  where  order  and  regularity  have  so 
long  triumphantly  reigned,  some  new  force  is 
to  be  introduced,  and  violence,  with  its  at- 
tendant disasters,  mounting  the  throne,  is  to 
sway  the  sceptre  of  universal  empire.  It  is 
not  meant,  that  man  has  a  controversy  with 
God,  and  would  dispute  with  Him  the  mas- 
tery of  the  universe,  or  that  Grod  has  retired 
to  some  unknown  realm,  having  committed 
the  development  of  the  universe  to  the  hands 
of  His  creatures ;  and  as  may  be  their  will,  so 
are  to  be  its  unfoldings,  its  experience,  its  his- 
tory. iXt  is  not  meant,  that  man  can  rightly  ask 
God  to  change  what  he  believes  to  be  fixedji 
e.  g.^  that  the  colors  of  the  flowers  may  be 
altered,  or  the  numerous  dead  should  rise  and 
re-occupy  their  familiar  homes.  It  is  not 
meant  that,  in  the  government  of  the  world,  a 
special  force  is  to  rule  where  now  natural  or 
physical  laws  hold  such  an  important  part, 
whose  regular  action  has  made  known  to  us 
the  purposes  of  God  in  regard  to  their  opera- 
tion. Nor  is  it  meant,  that  man  is  so  familiar 
with  the  working  of  law,  or  sucli  is  his 
knowledge  of  God  and  His  relations  to  the 


118  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

universe,  and  the  modes  of  His  revelations,  as 
to  be  acquainted  with  the  chemistry  or  the 
process  by  which  his  petitions  are  heard  and 
answered,  any  more  than  a  child  knows  the 
anatomy  of  the  hand  which  may  give  him  a 
drink.  But  when  we  say  that  it  is  possible, 
should  God  so  desire,  to  alter  or  modify  His 
will  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  His  children ; 
and  law,  or  the  universe,  suffer  no  shock  or  de- 
rangement, it  is  meant — that  God  is  not  only 
the  Maker  and  Kuler  of  the  universe,  and  the 
Creator  of  all  things  therein,  animate  and  in- 
animate, but  also  that  He  is  our  Creator,  our 
Preserver,  and  our  bountiful  Benefactor — nay, 
our  Father;  and  thus  being  of  Him,  and  by 
faith  in  Him,  though  we  have  been  disobe- 
dient. He  watches  over  and  cares,  and  guides, 
and  controls  us  in  all  our  ways,  and  in  all  our 
actions.  And  because  of  His  relations  to  us, 
and  of  our  relations  to  Him,  there  has  been  a 
way  opened  along  which  our  wants  may  pass 
to  Him,  and  through  which  His  favors  may 
come  to  us.  It  is  meant,  that  God  is  a  Person, 
and  therefore  the  universe  is  governed  not  by 
caprice,  nor  by  chance,  but  by  a  personal  will, 
and  a  personal  power ;  and  since  He  is  omnis- 
cient and  omnipotent.  He  has  established 
everything  at  the  beginning,  and  with  every- 


PR  A  YRR  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    \\\) 

tiling  wliicli  exists,  and  in  any  and  every 
kingdom,  laws  -have  been  associated  as  cer- 
tain and  as  invariable  in  their  action  as  tliat 
they  are  laws,  and  do  act ;  and  since  He  is 
God,  He  is  not  bound  by  any  one  specific 
plan  of  action,  but.  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
His  so  interposing,  modifying,  or  restraining 
His  will  or  law  in  its  outward  development, 
as  to  secure  results  whicli  would  not  have 
been  secured  without  this  restraint  or  modifi- 
cation. It  is  meant,  that  while  the  essence 
and  development  of  every  law  are  predeter- 
mined, and  know  no  change  in  any  of  the 
degrees  of  their  operations,  still  any,  and  if  nec- 
essary every  law  can  be  so  adapted  or  re- 
lated, as  that  without  the  generation  of  any 
new  power,  special  or  j)articular  fruits  will  be 
gathered,  the  immediate  product  of- their  new 
adjustment  or  this  new  relation.  It  is  meant, 
that  there  is  one  system  of  law  acting  within 
the  realm  of  another  system,  as  centripetal  and 
centrifugal  forces  act  in  nature  or  among  the 
planets ;  and  yet  there  is  no  confusion,  no 
violence,  nor  do  they  commingle,  or  the  one 
destroy  the  action  of  the  other.  It  is  meant, 
that  a  Higher  power  or  causation  itself  may 
inter230se  in  His  government ;  but  the  when, 
and  the  manner,  and  the  kow  of  that  inter- 


120  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

position  is  beyond  all  mortal  vision  and  dis- 
covery. It  is  meant  tliat,  as  man  may  con- 
trol events  or  determine  results  in  tliat  narrow 
sphere  of  wliicli  lie  is  master,  so  is  it  possible 
for  God  to  continue  the  direction  of  forces  in 
'  that  outer  sphere  of  which  He  is  Master.  It 
is  meant,  that  God  can  make  infinite  combi- 
nations of  His  purposes  or  His  laws,  and 
yet  no  existing  law  be  disturbed,  nor  the 
universe,  in  any  of  its  parts,  become  in  the 
least  unsettled  or  destroyed ;  rather,  after  His 
act,  it  will  be  as  perfect  and  remain  as  tran- 
quil as,  when  surveying  it,  He  pronounced  it 
"  very  good."  It  is  meant,  that  while  the 
world  is  pervaded  with  law,  and  God  has 
willed  to  administer  His  entire  government 
t    by  the  succession  of  laws  and  sequences,  an 

/^  answer  to  the  prayer  of  any  of  His  children 
may  be  given,  not  in  opposition  to  these  laws, 

,  but  through  them.  It  is  meant,  that  physical 
nature  is  not  the  only  realm  which  God  has 
established ;  but  mind  has  its  realm  as  well  as 
matter,  and  spirit  its  realm  as  well  as  mind ; 
and  in  all  these  kingdoms  every  laAV  is  as 
fully  established  and  as  accurately  defined,  as 
is  any  law  in  the  material  world  ;  and  in  that 
realm  in  which  prayer  lies,  its  laws  will  act, 
and  do  act,  as  other  laws  in  other  realms.     It 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    121 

is  meant,  that  there  are  relations  far,  far  be- 
yond the  cognizance  of  mere  physical  science, 
and  forces  in  operation,  outside  and  above 
the  emi)ire  of  the  material ;  and  as  the  scien- 
tist, by  his  labors,  is  daily  bringing  to  light, 
so  to  say,  new  laws,  or  as  his  sj^ecial  realm 
yields  him  fruit,  as  with  tireless  industry  he 
explores  it,  so  in  the  realm  of  prayer :  for  him 
who  prays,  God  has  in  store  answers  fully  as 
real,  and  as  much  the  result  of  asking,  as  any 
that  have  ever  followed  in  the  wake  of  labor 
and  obedience.  And  it  is  meant,  also,  that 
prayer  has  its  sequence  and  its  functions  as 
have  other  agencies ;  and  that  the  will  of  man, 
though  affected  by  sin  and  limited  in  its  ope- 
rations, may  so  move  God  as  to  lead  Him*  to 
make,  such  combinations,  as  He  may  not  have 
made,  had  not  man  reverently  sought  it ;  that 
it  is  possible  for  the  finite  to  travel  in  the 
plane  of  the  Infinite  ;  and  when  it  then  does, 
the  action  of  God,  resulting  from  this  union, 
may  be  regarded  as  truly  a  response  to  man's 
demand,  as  though  his  will  were  the  only  will 
which  had  been  expressed. 

For,  as  we  have  said,  prayer  is  not  demand 
nor  exaction,  but  request — desire.     Nor  does 
it  mean  constraint,  peremptoriness,  nor  dicta- 
tion ;  but  its  language  and  sentiment  are,  "•  if 
6* 


122  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

it  be  Thy  will;"  and  it  is  this  formula  upon 
which  it  bases  its  effectiveness.  And  there- 
fore its  relations  to  law  are  not  those  of 
enmity,  but  peace  and  good -will.  Nay, 
prayer  simply  tells  us  there  are  forces  high'er, 
far  higher  than  those  which  we  daily  see  ex- 
hibited in  the  physical  universe ;  and  that 
their  operation,  in  this  ultra-material  domain, 
are  as  regular,  and  have  their  sequences,  as 
have  other  laws  in  their  domain.  Conse- 
quently, prayer  nowhere  attacks,  cripples,  or 
destroys  law,  nor  does  it  defeat  or  render  nu- 
gatory any  previous  wise  established  purpose, 
nor  impair  its  workings ;  but  it  looks  to  law 
for  its  prescribed  sequence,  as  much  so  as 
any  force  in  the  universe  is  scanned  for  its 
results.  All  its  products,  as  well  as  its  ac- 
tion, are  predicated  upon  law,  and  the  con- 
stancy and  regularity  of  its  operation.  For 
it  cannot  be,  that  the  loftiest  feelings  of 
which  the  human  soul  is  capable  have  no 
consequent  in  the  spiritual  universe.  If  so, 
we  have  a  cause  without  an  effect,  an  effort 
without  a  result,  an  aim  without  a  purpose. 
Rather  law  is  the  interpreter  of  prayer ;  it  is 
its  handmaid,  by  which,  under  the  will  of  the 
Highest,  all  its  blessings  are  borne  to  the  race. 
Let  law  in  any  of  its  numerous  realms  fail, 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    123 

and  it  is  not  only  true  that  the  physical 
universe  would  be  involved  in  irremediable 
chaos,  but  every  universe  — mental,  moral, 
spiritual — would  share  in  the  general  confu- 
sion. And  since  prayer,  in  its  last  analysis,  is 
desire,  the  desire  of  the  heart,  connected  with 
its  exercise,  there  are  laws,  if  success  is  to  be 
achieved,  which  are  to  be  recognized  and 
obeyed,  as  is  any  law  or  force,  associated  with 
whatever  phenomenon. 

Though  the  forces  which  have  swayed  ihe 
woild  differ  both  in  name  and  nature,  their 
differences  are  not  found  in  that  they  have  no 
defined  rule  of  action  ;  but  in  their  modes  of 
action,  and  in  their  limit  of  operation.  Their 
variety  consists  in  their  tendency  and  limita-' 
tion.  Each  has  its  function  in  the  economy 
of  nature ;  each  is  assigned  a  sphere  in  which 
it  may  operate;  and  each  has  its  limits  be- 
yond which  it  cannot  pass.  Cohesion  is  not 
in  its  nature  like  gravitation,  nor  gravitation 
like  cohesion ;  for  while  the  one  operates  upon 
^jparticles  of  matter  of  the  same  inherent  char- 
acter, the  other  causes  bodies  to  approach 
each  other.  And  so  of  all  forces,  prayer  not 
excepted ;  each  is  limited  in  its  ojDeration.  Its 
function,  the  function  of  prayer,  is  as  surely 
designated,  and   its  boundaries  fixed,  as  are 


124  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

those  of  other  forces.  Nor  is  it  in  antagonism 
with  any  force.  For  all  forces  are  co-active  and 
essentially  harmonious.  They  are  all  in  alli- 
ance and  confederation.  We  have  yet  to  learn 
that  there  is  a  dynamic  war  in  the  universe. 
And  law  is  as  omnipresence ;  and  being  such, 
it  pervades  everything ;  and  this  everything 
does  not  include  merely  the  material  universe. 
For  there  is  the  universe  of  mind,  as  well  as  of 
matter,  and  of  spirit,  as  well  as  of  mind ;  and 
there  is  also  the  universe  of  feeling,  of  senti- 
ment, of  emotion.  As  the  former  has  connected 
with  it  laws  which  control  it  in  its  mani- 
fold developments ;  and  the  worlds  of  mind 
and  of  spirit  have  rules  by  which  they  are 
governed,  and  their  trophies  are  won;  so 
has  this  latter  universe  laws  for  its  achieve- 
ments ;  and  as  prayer  is  a  part  of  it ;  since 
this  phenomenon  inheres  in  the  spiritual  world, 
it  has  provisions  for  its  action,  as  has  any- 
thing which  may  belong  to  a  different  realm. 
And  its  laws,  whether  known  or  unknown,  or  to 
whomsoever  they  may  relate,  whether  God  or 
man,  angel  or  devil,  and  whatever  may  be 
their  extent  or  efficacy,  are  as  much  the  rep- 
resentations of  God's  will,  or  of  His  purpose, 
as  is  gravitation  the  representative  of  His  will 
in  the  material  universe.     Will  does  not  cease 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    125 

to  be  will,  because  the  modes  of  its  revelation 
may  differ;  any  more  than  man  ceases  to  be 
mian,  though  he  may  not  appear  in  the  vest- 
ments of  a  man.  And  as  prayer  is  a  reality — a 
phenomenon,  God  has  stamped  upon,  or  as- 
sociated with  it  laws,  as  He  has  impressed 
upon  other  realities  their  laws  whose  opera- 
tion express  His  will  concerning  them.  In 
our  study  of  the  universe,  is  it  true  that  ma- 
terial forces  are  the  only  forces  to  which  we 
have  been  introduced  ?  Or  that  agencies  are 
not  recognized  or  considered  until  we  know 
their  full  relations  and  complete  workings ; 
that  the  invisible  and  silent  are  not  as  real  as 
that  which  we  daily  see  or  hear,  and  which 
may  be  demonstrative  in  its  activities  ?  Is  it 
true,  that  there  is  no  realm  beyond  the  physi- 
cal, or  no  world  beyond  that  of  matter  \  The 
cosmos  is  as  complete  to-day  in  all  its  entity 
and  substantiality,  as  when  it  came  fresh 
from  the  hands  of  its  Creator ;  and  so  far  as 
we  know,  in  its  history,  not  a  single  force  has 
been  impaired  ;  nor  has  there  been  any  with- 
drawn ;  nor  any  new  one,  new  in  nature,  gen- 
erated. Things  remain  as  at  the  beginning. 
And  is  the  same  any  the  less  true  of  mind  ? 
Has  time  deprived  it  of  any  of  its  original 
tendencies,  or  robbed  it  of  early  endowments 


126  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

and  principles ; — those  God-given  and  heaven- 
sealed  principles,  with  which  it  was  prima- 
rily invested  \  Is  it  not  the  sarae  in  every 
essential  character  as  when  God  brouorht  it 
put  of  His  infinite  treasury ;  the  same  in  its 
nature ;  the  same  in  its  development;  and  the 
same  in  all  that  pertains  to  its  existence? 
Is  not  the  same  true  of  the  soul?  In  any 
sense,  has  its  organization  been  changed,  or  new 
instincts  been  given  to  it  ?  And  so  con- 
cerning Prayer.  Has  anything  been  added  to 
or  subtracted  from  the  primary  laws  which 
were  impressed  upon  its  exercise  ?  Notwith- 
standing all  the  errors  which  have  been  added 
to  it  by  men,  is  it  not  in  fact  the  same,  in  its 
being,  as  it  ever  was,  the  same  in  its  origin, 
tie  same  in  its  bearings,  the  same  in  its 
claims,  and  in  its  rev^^ards  ?  And  since  it  is  a 
force,  or  an  agency,  are  its  laws  any  the  less  a 
disclosure  of  God's  purposes  in  regard  to  its 
establishment,  than  are  other  forces  the  mani- 
festations of  His  will  in  realms  less  loved,  or 
Jess  sacred?  No,  indeed.  Prayer  and  the 
laws  for  its  workings  are  the  same  as  they 
have  always  been ;  and  since  law  is  the 
synonym  for  God's  will,  and  prayer  has 
laws,  then  its  laws  are  just  as  much  the  ex- 
ponents of  His  will  in  the  kingdom  in  which 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    127 

it  moves,  as  may  be  any  law  the  exponent  of 
God's  will  in  anotljer  kingdom ;  though  the 
difference  between  them  as  forces,  may  be 
measured  by  that  which  exists  between  the 
mental  and  the  moral,  or  the  world  of  matter 
and  the  world  of  sjDirit. 

Regarding,  therefore,  prayer  as  a  force  in 
the  universe,  and  believing  there  are  connect- 
ed in  its  exercise  consequents  as  much  so  as  in 
the  exercise  of  any  agency ;  and  that  its  laws 
and  sequences,  whatever  they  may  be,  are  as 
much  the  will  of  God,  as  are  other  laws  and 
sequences ;  and  as  other  agencies  have  their 
realm  of  ojDeration,  so  has  it — Where  then  the 
difficulty  of  God's  answering  whatever  prayer 
may  be  addressed  to  His  throne  ?  In  obedi- 
ence to  the  desire  of  His  servants,  can  He 
not,  if  He  determine,  interpose  to  secure  re- 
sults, which  would  not  have  been,  had  He  not 
been  requested,  and  yet  no  law  suffer  infringe- 
ment, and  the  prayer  answered,  the  universe 
remain  as  quiet  and  peaceful  as  though  He 
had  not  thus  done  ?  No  objection  to  his  ac- 
tion can  be  derived  from  any  a  priori  considera- 
tions, nor  from  His  omnipotence,  benevolence, 
or  immutability ;  for  who  knoweth  the  unre- 
vealed  capabilities  or  powers  of  the  Infinite 
mind  ?    But  can  He  do  so  ?     Can  He  answer 


128  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

prayer,  when  that  prayer  involves,  as  some 
express  it,  the  violation  of  23re-established  or 
known  law  ?     Let  us  here  illustrate. 

Suppose,  for  special  reasons,  one  is  moved 
to  pray  that  rain,  free  and  copious,  might 
descend,  in  order  that  man,  and  beast,  and  na- 
ture— all  might  be  refreshed.     And  should 

"  The  clouds  consign  their  treasures  to  the  fields, 
And  softly  shaking  on  the  dimpled  pool 
Prelusive  drops,  let  all  their  moisture  flow, 
In  large  effusion,  o'er  the  freshened  world," 

it  is  the  opinion  of  some,  that  it  would 
have  rained,  prayer  or  no  prayer.  But  in  the 
supposition,  we  contemplate  no  such  results, 
save  as  answer  to  specific,  positive  prayer. 
Our  inquiry  then  is :  Is  it  possible  for  God  to 
open  the  clouds  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
His  children  \  Numerous,  as  we  know,  are 
the  physical  agencies  which  are  necessary  to 
secure  the  presence  upon  the  earth  of  such  •a 
phenomenon;  and  what  these  agencies  are  we 
need  not  stop  to  enumerate.  It  is  sufficient,  if 
we  remember  that  rain  is  the  condensation  of 
yapor  in  the  atmosphere,  and  its  falling  in 
drops  to  the  earth ;  and  that  it  is  brought  about 
by  a  strict  obedience  to  natural  laws,  the  more 
apparent  of  which  are  heat,  and  currents  of 
wdnd ;  all  of  which  laws  are  as  invariable  in 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.   129 

their  action,  as  their  actions  or  results  are  evi- 
dent. 

Now  that  man,  and  if  need  be,  a  child, 
cither  by  design  or  by  accident,  can  gene- 
rate heat,  and  of  sufficient  quantity  also  to 
alter  the  relative  conditions  of  the  atmos- 
phere, no  one,  we  think,  will  question.  This 
the  very  humblest  physicist  will  admit ;  and  it 
is  a  fact  also  which  is  taught  us  oi\  nearly  every 
page  in  our  books  of  Natural  Philosophy. 
For  let  Portland,  Chicago,  Boston,  or  a  prairie 
be  again  fired,  and  tie  end  is  secured.  And  now 
this  heat  generated,  and  on  its  mission,  its 
presence  will  produce  a  movement  in  the 
atmosphere,  or  start  air  currents,  and  such 
as  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  would  have 
been  started,  had  it  not  been  thus  generated. 
This  is  another  fact  concerning  which,  we  ap- 
prehend, there  can  be  no  intelligent  dispute. 
Indeed,  the  only  questions  which  here  present 
themselves  are  not  those  of  ability  or  power; 
but  of  purpose,  means,  and  opportunity.  Se- 
cure the  agent  and  the  means,  and  all  can  be 
accomplished.  And  what  is  to  be  observed 
in  this  supposed  conflagration  and  its  results, 
no  new  forces  have  been  introduced,  nor  has 
there  been  an  infraction  of  law;  still  less 
have  the  normal  relations  between  cause  and 


130  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

effect,  or  antecedent  and  consequent,  been  dis- 
turbed. There  is  no  anarchy  nor  any  interrup- 
tion whatever  to  the  reign  of  law ;  rather 
every  force,  as  such,  or  every  law  remaiDs  the 
same,  both  in  its  nature  and  sequence,  after 
the  proposed  experiment,  as  it  was  before  the 
starting  of  the  flames.  Simply  existing  laws 
have  been  operated  upon,  and  in  such  a  way 
as  to  disturb  other  laws ;  or  by  means  of  a 
certain  phenomenon,  the  previous  balancings, 
in  the  heavens,  of  laws  in  connection  with 
phenomena  have  been  lost,  and  a  new  ad- 
justment made  as  has  been,  or  as  were  the 
disturbing  forces.  The  air  is  rarefied  as  it 
was  before,  only  the  more  so  ;  and  the  wind 
still  moves,  only  more  rapidly.  And  what  is 
also  to  be  noted,  the  effects  of  the  flame, 
whether  where  generated  or  elsewhere,  and 
this  new  movement  of  air  currents,  whether 
then  apparent  or  otherwise,  were  not  the  re- 
sult of  the  reversal  of  law,  but  of  the  opera- 
tion of  law ;  and  that  law,  the  law  of  heat, 
and  it  beo^an  its  workino-s  throusrh  a  child,  or 
through  the  will  of  a  man.  In  other  words, 
were  the  suggested  experiment  carried  out, 
y/e  would  have  as  a  result  the  following  : — 
That  it  was  j)ossible  for  man,  through  an  ex- 
isting  agency,  and   in   perfect  obedience  to 


PRA  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    131 

fixed  and  established  law,  to  bring  about  cer- 
tain consequences,  which  would  not  have  been 
secured  had  he  not  so  determined ;  and 
in  this  action  no  law  experience  the  least 
infraction.  If  heat  be  the  agent  which  is  ap- 
plied, none  of  its  laws  were  violated  ;  or  if  it 
be  the  atmosphere  which  is  acted  upon,  here 
no  law  is  broken ;  and  all  that  the  will  of 
man,  the  immediate  cause  of  the  action,  may- 
do,  is  likewise  fully  as  obedient  to  law,  as  the 
physical  agency  which  lie  was  pleased  to  em- 
ploy. Or,  as  this  same  fact  may  be  reduced 
into  a  narrow  compass  :  it  is  within  the  power 
of  man  to  produce  results  in  the  physical  uni- 
verse, through  physical  laws,  which  would  not 
have  been  produced  without  his  action,  and  the 
means  employed,  as  well  as  the  results  secured, 
shall  be,  at  the  same  time,  in  perfect  obedi- 
ence to  known  conditions  and  laws. 

And  if  man,  weak,  erring,  ignorant  man, 
can  secure  spe(^al  and  desired  results  without 
the  infringement  of  any  law,  and  in  obedience 
to  his  own  will,  and  if  after  his  act,  the  normal 
nature  and  character  of  the  laws  used  or  dis- 
turbed remain  the  same,  as  though  he  had  not 
interfered  with  them,  will  it  be  said  that  God, 
in  obedience  to  this  same  will,  cannot  secure 
like  particular  results,  and  still  no  law,  in  any 
realm,  suffer  infringement  \ 


A- 


132  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

If  humanity  can  bring  about  results,  and 
such  as  it  may  covet,  not  in  contravention  of 
the  established  laws  of  nature,  but  by  an 
interference  in  accordance  with  law,  or  by  an 
obedience  to  it,  shall  we  say  Deity  cannot  do 
the  same  ?  Is  it  so,  that  the  illimited  is  not 
greater,  and  greater  in  every  conceivable  excel- 
lency, than  the  limited  ?  Man,  in  order  to  ef- 
fect his  purposes,  can  so  lay  hold  on  the 
course  of  nature  as  to  modify  the  current  of 
events,  and  the  laws  of  causation  experience 
no  derangement ;  and  cannot  God,  jn  li^ 
manner,  interpose,  in  obedience  to  the  requests 
of  His  creatures,  and  so  interpose  that  the 
laws  of  causation  shall  not  be  disturbed,  and 
events  flow  in  a  far  different  channel  from 
what  they  would  had  he  never  thus  asked  ? 
Surely  under  the  reign  of  law,  mighty,  in- 
variable Law — Omnipotence  can  at  least  act  in 
power  equally  with  the  creature.  Shall  we 
deify  humanity,  and  not  Him  who  is  the  true 
and  only  Deity  ? 

Or  let  us  allude  to  another  familiar  phenom- 
enon. It  is  the  law  of  water  to  seek  its 
level.  The  drops,  which  start  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain,  do  not  there  remain ;  but 
after  trickling  awhile  among  the  roots  and 
rocks,  combining,  form  themselves  into  little 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    133 

rivulets ;  and  after  perhaps  a  most  circuitous 
course,  finally  lose  themselves  in  the  ravine 
below.  This  is  the  law  of  that  colorless, 
ponderous,  and  transparent  fluid.  Now  that 
this  same  mountain  stream  cannot  be  diverted 
or  arrested  in  its  course,  whether  when  it 
appears  in  the  form  of  a  gentle  rivulet,  or  as 
a  leaping,  dashing  torrent,  and  arrested 
through  the  operation  of  law,  who  will  doubt  \ 
That  across  its  pathway  a  dam  cannot  be 
thrown,  and  its  passage  stopped,  who  can 
question?  This  is  a  daily  act,  and  at  a 
proper  point,  its  arrest  can  be  accomplished 
by  the  feeble  hand  of  a  child.  And  what  is 
to  be  noted :  in  its  check  no  law  of  fluids  has 
been  violated,  nor  has  any  force  been  curtail- 
ed or  disturbed;  simply  another  law,  and 
greater  than  the  law  of  fluids,  has  been 
brought  into  play ;  one  force,  and  a  natural 
force,  has  been  arrayed  against  another  natu- 
ral force.  In  fact,  so  far  as  the  law  of  liquids 
is  concerned,  its  power  is  fully  as  much  pres- 
ent, now  that  the  water  has  been  impeded, 
as  when  it  went  leaping  down  the  mountain 
side;  a  truth  which  the  withdrawal  of  the 
opposing  force  will  at  once  reveal.  In  no  re- 
spect has  there  been  any  violence  to  the  reign 
of  law ;    simply  one   law,  through  will,  has 


134  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

iDeen  confronted  by  another  law;  or  one  law 
lias  been  put  into  sncli  relations  to  another 
law,  and  by  a  personal  will,  as  to  achieve  con- 
sequences which  would  not  have  been  achieved 
had  man  not  thus  interposed  ;  and  yet  neither 
the  law  of  fluids,  nor  that  of  gravitation  or 
resistance,  and  the  like,  has  suffered  the  least 
abrido^ment.  And  therefore  we  as^ain  in- 
quire,  if  it  be  man's  prerogative,  thus,  through 
the  existing  forces  of  nature,  to  accomplish 
ends  which  would  not  have  been  accomplished, 
had  he  not  so  h§ye  done,  and  no  force,  neither 
that  one  whose  j^ower  has  been  invoked,  or 
that  which  has  been  acted  upon,  experience 
infringement,  but  both  remain  the  same,  in 
every  conceivable  particular,  after  as  previ- 
ous to  their  adjustment ;  will  it  be  said  that 
the  Framer  of  law,  the  Master  of  the  Uni- 
verse, Omnipotence,  cannot  thus  do,  and  es- 
tablished order  not  be  disturbed  ?  Can  it  be 
so  ?  The  law  of  miasma  can  also  be  counter- 
acted by  other  laws ;  and  still  its  inherent  na- 
ture, and  that  of  its  opposing  force,  remain  as 
though  it  had  not  been  interfered  with.  Such 
certainly  is  the  teaching  of  chemistry,  and  it 
is  a  result  which  daily  can  be  witnessed.  Can- 
not the  Teacher  do  what  he  who  is  the  learner 
is  said  to  do,  and  what  we  know  he  does  ? 


FJ^A  YER  A.VD  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    135 

When  the  cord  which  threads  the  passenger 
train  is  suddenly  pulled,  and  the  engineer,  in 
obedience  thereto  reversing  his  engine,  stops 
the  train,  no  law  is  violated,  nor  is  there  any 
law  annulled  ;  simply  the  power  of  another 
law  is  invoked.  If  the  engineer  can  thus  do, 
cannot  He  who  holds  in  His  hands  all  the 
forces  of  the  universe,  exert  an  eqiial  power  j 
Yet  more ;  if  we  with  our  finite  wisdom  can 
discover  a  motive  for  re-adJusting  or  modify- 
ing the  laws  of  nature,  for  the  attainment  of 
certain  ends,  may  not  God  discover  a  similar 
motive,  and  do  what  we,  wdth  our  limited 
powers,  can  perform  ?  Assuredly,  we  cannot 
refuse  to  God  doing  under  law  what  man  can 
accomplish.  Man  the  only  master,  or  the  hu- 
man will  the  only  known  will  in  the  phenom- 
enal world !  Say  this,  and  the  logical  con- 
clusion of  such  assumption  is,  his  mind  is  the 
only  mind  in  the  universe ;  for  we  cannot  con- 
ceive of  mind  inherent  in  brute  matter.  But 
is  it  so  ?  or  has  it  been  so  ?  or  will  it  ever  be 
so  ?  But  one  intellect,  a  single  mind,  and 
that  intellect — that  mind,  the  intellect — the 
mind  of  humanity  !  Is  this  the  teaching  of 
nature,  setting  aside  those  deep-seated  and 
firmly-rooted  teachings  which  come  to  us 
through    consciousness,  through    experience, 


136  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

and  which  appear  on  the  pages  of  insi3iration  ! 
And  how  hapj)ily  does  this  idea  of  God's 
power  and  relations  to  the  universe  harmonize 
with  what  we  know  to  be  His  character  ?  In- 
deed, this  freedom  of  will,  and  power,  and 
liberty  of  action  of  which  we  speak,  neces- 
sarily results  from  His  intelligent,  self -existent, 
and  independent  nature.  For  intelligence  is 
not  a  passive,  but  an  active,  quality ;  and  if 
the  Divine  intelligence  act  at  all,  it  must  act 
freely;  for  there  is  no  external  power,  nor 
any  circumstance  exempt  from  its  influence  to 
control  it.  Without  free  w^ill,  God's  intelli- 
gence would  be  only  a  passive  consciousness 
or  feeling ;  a  perception  of  what  was  passing 
in  His  mind ;  and  a  knowledge  that  all  things 
originated  with  Him,  without  any  power  to 
direct  His  thoughts,  regulate  His  actions,  gr 
govern  creation. 

But  passing  from  the  realm  of  reason, 
the  Scriptures  make  known  to  us,  and  with 
no  mean  significance,  that  God,  for  His  own 
wise  purposes,  can  use  the  laws  of  nature,  and 
yet  the  established  order  of  things  be  not  in 
the  least  disturbed. 

The  Bible  supplements  the  distinct  teach- 
ings of  reason.  When  that  royal  mandate 
was   issued  unto  Moses :    "  Speak   unto  the 


PRA  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.   137 

children  of  Israel  that  they  go  forward/' 
accompanied  with  the  promise  that  they 
should  "  go  on  dry  ground  through  the 
midst  of  the  sea,"  it  is  nowhere  said,  that  those 
liquid  walls,  which  rose  up  on  either  side  of 
the  astonished  hosts  as  they  moved  across  the 
gulf,  were  erected  by  the  destruction,  suspen- 
sion, or  reversal  of  physical  laws ;  this  the 
narrative  does  not  affirm ;  rather  the  recorded 
solution  of  the  phenomenon  is :  "The  Lord 
caused  the  sea  to  go  back  by  a  strong  east 
wind,  all  that  night,  and  made  the  sea  dry 
land,  and  the  waters  were  divided."  Exist- 
ing forces  were  employed,  and  at  a  time  and 
place,  in  which,  by  their  own  nature  and  ten- 
dency, they  would  not  have  acted.  Conse- 
quently, the  miraculous  nature  of  the  phenom- 
ena did  not  consist  in  the  creation  of  any 
new  agencies,  or  the  annulling  of  existing 
ones,  but  in  a  greater  knowledge  of  the  use 
of  such  forces.  A  path  was  made  for  them 
by  the  combination  of  forces  already  existent. 
The  miracle  was  a  scientific  miracle.  And  so 
of  other  miracles,  as  the  falling  of  the  manna 
in  the  wilderness,  the  gushing  of  water  from 
the  rock  ;  and  their  kindred  ones  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  feeding  of  ^y^  thousand  with 
a  few  loaves  and  fishes,  and  the  conversion  of 

n 


138  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

the  water  at  the  feast  into  wine.  And  so 
likewise  of  those  seemingly  stupendous  mira- 
cles, as  when  the  valorous  Joshua,  in  the 
sight  of  Israel,  said  :  *^  Sun,  stand  thou  still 
upon  Gibeon,  and  thou.  Moon,  in  the  valley 
of  Ajalon ;  and  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the 
moon  stayed."  Or,  as  when  King  Hezekiah 
prayed,  that  his  life  might  be  prolonged ;  and 
"  the  shadow  in  the  dial  of  Ahaz  was  brought 
backward  ten  degrees."  In  obedience  to  these 
requests,  we  have  yet  to  know  that  the  solar 
system  experienced  derangement ;  that  law  in 
the  heavenly  w^orld  ceased  to  act ;  that  it  v/as 
abrogated,  or  for  the  time  set  aside.  Nay,  on 
the  other  hand,  those  same  natural  forces 
which  now  govern  the  movements  of  the 
earth  and  the  heavenly  bodies,  still  w^ere  in 
successful  operation  ;  nor  were  they  robbed 
of  any  of  their  primal  play ;  rather  law  was 
arrayed  against  law — or  a  more  effective  force 
met  a  less  effective  force.  And  as  in  the  ad- 
justment of  other  agencies  of  varied  degree, 
results  are  secured,  w^hile  there  is  no  suspen- 
sion or  abrogation  of  law ;  so  here,  because 
of  the  introduction  of  this  greater  force, 
sequences  followed  which  otherwise  would 
not  have  been  witnessed,  had  not  this  same 
more  effective  force  been  interposed.     There 


FI^A  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    139 

was  no  creation  of  a  new  power — simply  a 
skillful  adjustment  of  forces  already  existing. 
And  to  say  that  God  cannot  thus  do,  or  that 
there  are  not  more  forces  in  the  universe 
than  those  with  which  we  may  now  be  ac- 
quainted, would  be  to  affirm,  not  simply,  that 
man  is  wise  as  the  Deity,  but  that  science 
likewise  has  completed  her  work  ;  and  hence- 
forth, nothing  now  is  left  to  her  but  to  sit 
down  and  calmly  enjoy  the  result  of  her  lon^ 
coveted  victories.  And  where  the  man  who 
will  thus  speak  ?  Has  science  fulfilled  her 
mission  % 

The  fixedness  therefore  of  nature  in  no  way 
interferes  with  God's  answering  prayer ;  rather 
it  is  because  law  is  immutable,  that  answers 
can  be  given  to  prayer,  and  yet  the  universe, 
in  none  of  its  parts,  experience  the  least 
violence.  Prayer  in  no  sense  is  in  antagonism 
with  natural  law. 

r  What  then,  it  may  be  asked,  is  the  relation 
'of  Prayer  to  established  law  ? 

In  answering  this  important  question,  it 
may  be  said,  prayer  presupposes  the  existence 
of  an  omnipotent,  omniscient,  omnipresent, 
benevolent,  immutable,  and  personal  Being, 
the  Creator  and  absolute  Sovereign  of  the  uni- 
verse— the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 


1 


140     -  [VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Therefore,  being  God,  botli  in  name  and 
nature,  there  exist  between  Him  and  His 
creatures  certain  relations,  which  are  sug- 
gested by  such  terms  as  Father,  and  Son, — 
parent,  and  child.  And  since  also  the  universe 
is  of  such  a  high  and  holy  origin,  it  has  not 
been  abandoned  to  fate,  nor  is  it  governed 
by  wild  and  fitful  caprice ;  but  it  is  con- 
trolled by  the  operation  of  wise  and  efficient 
Mws,  as  regular  in  their  working  as  they  are 
unalterable  in  their  nature ;  and  which,  where- 
soever, and  whensoever,  and  howsoever  they 
may  be  revealed,  and  under  whatsoever  cir- 
cumstances, and  in  whatever  domain,  are 
neither  independent  nor  self-existent ;  but  are 
the  distinct  impressions  of  His  holy  will ;  and 
as  will  is  the  particular  prerogative  of  per- 
sonality, in  this  personality  there  is  involved 
the  attribute  of  freedom,  which,  though  al- 
ready manifested,  can  still  be  exercised,  as 
much  so  as  though  it  had  never  been  ex- 
pressed, or  impressed  on  a  single  object  of 
His  creation.  Indeed,  such  is  God's  freedom 
of  action,  if  He  so  determine.  He  can  suspend 
or  reverse  any  law  ;  not  by  the  introduction 
of  any  new  force,  nor  yet  by  any  change  of 
previous  purpose ;  but  under  and  by  the  in- 
fluence of  other  laws ;  or  through  higher  ex- 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RELA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.    141 

pressions  of  His  will, — higher  in  degree  ;  and 
it  may  be  also  as  to  the  ends  which  He  would 
accomplish.  And  the  establishment  of  these 
laws  were  not  only  for  His  own  guidance  and 
happiness,  but  for  the  guidance  and  happiness 
of  His  creatures ;  and  it  is  possible,  nay  cer- 
tain, when  man  reverently  asks  Him  for  such 
favors  as  may  be  in  accord  with  His  will, 
these  favors  shall  be  given  to  him ;  not  by 
violating  law,  or  by  throwing  the  cosmos  into 
confusion  ;  but  by  means  of  agencies  already 
in  operation.  And  since  we  find  Prayer 
among  the  numerous  spiritual  agencies  to 
which  we  have  been  introduced,  and  it  has 
laws  for  its  operations  as  have  the  material 
forces  and  phenomena  their  laws,  and  as 
forces  already  existing  can  be  combined,  ar- 
ranged, modified,  and  in  a  manner  that  will 
secure  results  which  would  not  have  been 
secured  without  this  same  re-combination ;  re- 
arrangement, and  re-modification ;  and  no  law, 
or  His  will  as  expressed  in  that  same  law,  re- 
ceive no  check  or  violence — so  can  prayer,  as 
a  force,  be  combined  with  other  forces ;  and 
because  of  this  interposition,  sequences  will 
be  obtained,  which  would  not  have  been 
secured,  had  it  not  been  employed ;  and  yet 
no  law  suffer  violence  or  the  least  abridgment. 


142  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Or  should  prayer  be  not  answered,  it  would 
arise  from  no  unwillingness  of  God,  nor  from 
His  inability  tbus  to  do,  but  foreseeing  an 
answer  would  not  be  expedient  for  the  in- 
terests of  the  universe,  or  for  the  petitioner, 
in  kindness  He  withholds  it. 

Or,  in  other  words,  the  theory  of  prayer 
presupposes — yea  teaches  the  existence  of  a 
personal  will  behind  and  above  all  the  devel- 
opments of  nature,  with  power  to  use  all  its 
phenomena,  not  by  any  destruction  or  the 
reversal  of  law  and  order,  but  by  their  order 
and  operation.  Existing .  laws,  therefore,  are 
the  concomitants  of  prayer — its  accessories ; 
and  upon  the  regularity  of  the  action  of  law 
are  its  holiest  conquests  predicated.  It  calls 
for  no  new  creations  in  any  realm,  neither  is 
it  the  friend  and  associate  of  disorder ;  nor 
for  its  exercise  does  it  demand  what  is  ab- 
normal, irregular,  and  exclusive :  on  the  con- 
trary, law  and  order  are  the  channels  through 
which  it  operates,  and  through  which  also  its 
results  are  expected.  When,  therefore,  men 
pray,  it  is  not  that  God,  in  obedience  to  their 
requests,  would  destroy,  or  convert  the  uni- 
verse into  a  Babel  of  law,  as  the  world  was 
once  in  speech ;  nor  is  it  that  matter,  in  any 
of  its  inherent  qualities,  may  be  altered — 


PR  A  YER  AND  ITS  RE  LA  TIONS  TO  SCIENCE.   143 

that  miracles  may  be  wrought — or  a  minority 
of  confusion  be  set  up  ;  but  if  it  please  Him, 
with  the  power  at  His  control,  He  would 
direct  a  force  in  one  direction  rather  than 
another ;  or  that  He  would  on  His  own 
infinite  scale  do  for  us,  what  at  times,  in  a 
far  humbler  way,  we  can  do  for  ourseh^es. 
When  we  pray,  we  ask  that  old,  or  existing 
and  established  forces  may  be  applied  in  an- 
other form,  than  we  may  see  them  to  be,  at 
the  hour  of  prayer : — that  there  be  such  a 
readjustment  among  them,  or  adaptation  of 
present  energies,  as  will  secure  that  for  which 
we  may  petition ;  and  all  be  done  in  obedi- 
ence to  law  ;  that  new  effects  be  accomplished 
through  old  causes ;  and  in  the  wisdom  which 
is  His,  and  out  of  the  innumerable  resources 
of  which  He  is  Master,  some  plan  might  be 
devised,  which,  without  disturbing  law  in  its 
proper  sequence,  such  benefits  might  bring 
forth  as  would  not,  were  He  not  thus  to  act. 
Yes,  and  if  need  be,  if  not  acting  through 
some  law  known  to  us.  He  would  still  act 
through  law;  and  as  we  pray  in  obedience 
to  the  law  of  our  spiritual  nature,  so  through 
laAV,  to  us  known  or  unknown,  there  may 
flow  the  blessings  sought. 


LECTURE   IV 


THE      PRATER      TEST 


^* 


IV. 


THE    PEAYER    TEST. 


A  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  the  religious 
world  was  awakened  by  a  proposition,  ema- 
nating from  a  well-defined  source,  which  con- 
tem]3lated  the  solution  of  some  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  Prayer,  in  its  application  to  the 
material  universe,  by  a  series  of  certain  pre- 
scribed experiments  ;  a  proposition  which,  in 
all  circles,  literary,  scientific,  and  theological, 
has  since  been  known  as  the  "  prayer  gauge,"  or 
"  prayer  test."  Perhaps  no  single  question  of 
the  present  day,  of  a  religio-scientific  nature, 
more  profoundly  stirred  the  mind  and 
thoughts  of  believers  of  every  denomination. 
And  no  sooner  was  it  made,  than  discussions 
appeared  in  journals  and  magazines, — secular, 
scientific,  and  religious, — on  the  nature  and 
character  of  Prayer,  its  province,  its  relation 
to  law,  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual,  as  well 
as  on  its  efficacy. 

Who  was  the  immediate  author  of  this  bold 
and  comprehensive  proposition,  whether  it 
had  its  origin  in  some  humble  heart,  which 


148  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

craved  a  more  extended  acquaintance  with 
tlie  principles  npon  whicli  the  results  of 
prayer  had  been  previously  predicated,  in 
order  that  it  might  be  wielded  in  a  realm 
which,  in  its  experiences,  it  had  not  been  em- 
ployed ;  or  whether  it  was  the  offspring  of 

''  The  curious  questioning  eye, 
That  plucks  the  heart  of  every  mystery  ; " 

that  spirit  which  seems,  in  this  age,  to  have 
so  largely  pervaded  every  class  of  society ;  or 
whether  it  had  its  beginning  in  a  desire  to 
bring  reproach  upon  that  system  of  belief  of 
which  prayer  forms  no  insignificant  part ; — 
to  cast  contempt  upon  the  numerous  votaries 
of  Christianity,  and  thus  lessen  the  many  de- 
ceptions in  the  world ;  or,  whether  it  was 
proposed  merely  to  illustrate  the  intellectual 
progress  of  the  present  over  previous  eras — 
matters  not.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  the 
proposition  has  been  made  ;  and  on  its  ap- 
pearance, as  well  as  since,  it  has  received  the 
approbation  of  some  of  the  noblest  minds  in 
the  world  of  science;  and  notwithstanding 
the  numerous  adverse  criticisms  which  it  has 
evoked,  these  same  comments,  rather  than  in- 
clining the  author  or  authors  to  withdraw 
their  proposition,  on  the  contrary,  have  led 


THE  PRA  YER   TEST.  149 

them  to  defend  it,  and  with  a  vigor  wortny  of 

.     high  commendation. 

\  The  immediate  channel,  however,  through 
v\ /'which  it  was  first  given  to  the  public,  was 
Mr.  John  Tyndall,  of  London,  England ;  a 
name,  wherever  mentioned  in.  the  field  of 
science,  meriting  the  highest  respect  ;  espe- 
cially for  his  recent  valuable  contributions  to 
that  noble  department  of  study  so  nearly 
related  to  theology — the  science  of  physics 
and  chemistry.  And  in  Mr.  Tyndall's  own 
language,  when  alluding  to  this  proposition, 
the  thought  which  was  uppermost  in  his  mind 
was,  ''to  ascertain,  by  a  practical  test,  the 
value  of  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  sick.  It  was 
my  aim  to  invite  the  attention  of  all  thought- 
ful persons ;  but  I  desii^ed  co-operation,  espe- 
cially for  those  who  have  a  firm  belief  in  the 
value  of  such  prayer.  And  the  ultimate  aim 
of  my  proposal  was,  that  the  value  of  prayer 
might  be  not  only  estimated,  but  also  utilized 
to  a  larger  extent  than  heretofore  on  behalf, 
at  any  rate,  of  our  great  charitable  institu- 
tions." 

Such  were  the  motives  which  prompted  this 
lover  of  man  and  of  science,  to  submit  his 
proposition  to  the  world.  Nor  can  we  do 
otherwise  than  admire  his  intentions,  though 


150  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

based  on  an  entire  misapprehension  of  the 
nature  of  true  and  successful  supplication. 
And  the  language  in  which  he  submits  his 
proposition  is  as  follows :  "  I  ask  that  one 
single  ward  or  hospital,  under  the  care  of  first- 
rate  physicians  and  surgeons,  containing  cer- 
tain numbers  of  patients  afflicted  with  those 
diseases  which  have  been  best  studied,  and  of 
which  the  mortality  rates  are  best  known, 
whether  the  diseases  are  those  which  are 
treated  by  medical  or  by  surgical  remedies, 
should  be,  during  a  period  of  not  less,  say, 
than  three  or  ^-^^  years,  made  the  object  of 
special  prayer  by  the  whole  body  of  the  faith- 
ful, and  that,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  the 
mortality  rates  should  be  compared  with  the 
past  rates,  and  also  with  that  of  other  leading 
hospitals,  similarly  well  managed,  during  the 
same  period.  Granting  that  time  is  given, 
and  numbers  are  sufficiently  large,  so  as  to 
insure  a  minimum  of  error  from  accidental 
disturbing  causes,  the  experiment  will  be 
exhaustive  and  complete. 

"  I  might  have  proposed  to  treat  two  sides 
of  the  same  hospital  managed  by  the  same 
men ;  one  side  to  be  the  object  of  special 
prayer,  the  other  to  be  exempted  from  all 
prayer.     It  would  have  been  the  most  rigidly 


THE  PRA  YER   TEST.  151 

logical  and  philosophical  method.  But  I 
shrink  from  depriving  any  of — I  had  almost 
said — his  natural  inheritance  in  the  prayers 
of  Christendom.  Practically,  too,  it  would 
have  been  impossible  ;  the  unprayed-for  ward 
would  have  attracted  the  prayers  of  believers 
as  surely  as  the  lofty  tower  attracts  electric 
fluid.  The  experiment  would  be  frustrated. 
But  the  opposite  character  of  my  proposal 
will  commend  it  to  those  who  are  naturally 
the  most  interested  in  its  success ;  those, 
namely,  who  conscientiously  and  devoutly 
believe  in  the  efficiency  against  disease  and 
death  of  special  prayer.  I  open  a  fleld  for 
the  exercise  of  their  devotion.  I  offer  an 
occasion  of  demonstrating  to  the  faithless  an 
imperishable  record  of  the  real  power  of 
prayer." 

Such  are  the  plain  and  forcible  words  in 
which  a  "  prayer  test "  has  been  submitted  to 
the  christian  and  believing  world.  And 
since  we  have  given  such  prominence  to  the 
author's  name  and  plan,  and  in  his  own  well- 
chosen  language ;  whatever  may  be  the  habit 
or  thought  of  those  who  sympathize  with 
him,  we  feel  it  is  due  this  distinguished 
scientist  that  we  should  give  also  his  views 
of  prayer ;  and  more  especially  since  he  has 


152  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

recorded  them  in  connection  with  his  world- 
wide proposal.  And  they  are  as  follows : 
"It  is  not  my  habit  of  mind  to  think  other 
than  solemnly  of  the  feeling  which  prompts 
prayer.  It  is  a  potency  which  I  should  like 
to  see  guided,  not  extinguished,  devoted  to 
practicable  objects,  instead  of  wasted  upon 
air.  In  some  form  or  other,  not  yet  evident, 
it  may,  as  alleged,  be  necessary  to  man's 
higlifist  culture.  Certain  it  is  that,  while  I 
rank  many  persons  who  employ  it  low  in  the 
scale  of  being,  natural  foolishness,  bigotry, 
and  intolerance  being  in  their  case  intensified 
by  the  notion  that  they  have  access  to  the 
ear  of  God,  I  regard  others  who  employ  it  as 
forming  in  part  of  the  very  cream  of  the 
earth.  The  faith  that  simply  adds  to  the 
folly  and  ferocity  of  the  one,  is  turned  to 
enduring  sweetness,  holiness,  abounding  char- 
'ity,  and  self-sacrifice  by  the  other.  Chris- 
tianity, in  fact,  varies  with  the  nature  upon 
which  it  falls.  Often  unreasonable,  if  not 
contemptible,  in  its  purer  forms  prayer  hints 
at  disciplines  which  few  of  us  can  neglect 
without  moral  loss.  But  no  good  can  come 
of  giving  it  a  delusive  value,  by  claiming  for 
it  a  power  in  physical  nature.  It  may 
strengthen  the  heart  to  meet  life's  losses,  and 


THE  PRA  YER   TEST.  153 

thus  indirectly  promote  physical  well-being, 
as  the.  digging  of  ^sop's  orchard  brought  a 
treasure  ot"  fertility  greater  than  the  treasure 
sought.  Such  indirect  issues  we  all  admit ; 
but  it  would  be  simply  dishonest  to  affirm 
that  it  is  such  issues  that  are  always  in  view." 

Such  are  this  philosopher's  views  of  the 
domain  and  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 

But  to  return  to  the  proposed  "  test."  In 
our  consideration  of  it,  let  us  primarily  ob- 
serve some  of  its  many  assumptions.  If  we 
interpret  it  aright,  it  assumes, — 

First.  The  possibility  of  professional  skill 
being  able  to  assort  patients  in  a  ward,  in 
such  a  manner,  that  it  may  be  said  of  them  they 
are  afflicted  with  the  same,  and  only  with  the 
same  malady.  Now,  that  it  is  possible  for 
a  physician,  even  of  limited  experience,  to 
pronounce  correctly  upon  the  evidences  and 
presence  of  ordinary  disease,  we  do  not  ques- 
tion ;  but  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to  affirm, 
and  with  scientific  correctness,  that  the  ten, 
twelve,  or  more  patients  who  may  have  been 
selected  for  the  proposed  trial,  are  afflicted 
with,  say — typhoid  fever,  and  only  with 
this  malady,  we  at  once  deny.  True,  this 
fever  may  be  most  distinctly  apparent  and 
manifest  in  the  mulberry-colored  rash,  and 


154  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

prseternatural  pulse,  and  coma,  and  other 
signs ;  but  at  the  same  hour  in  which  its 
lassitude  is  felt,  that  there  may  not  be  in  that 
same  prostrate  frame  other  diseases,  if  not  as 
palpably  developed,  certainly  in  their  incip- 
iency,  and  whose  presence  will  largely  inter- 
fere with  the  restoration  of  the  sick  one,  who 
is  able  to  say  beyond  the  possibility  of  a 
doubt  %  If  the  fires  of  consumption  reveal 
their  presence  in  the  hectic  flush,  it  is  no  evi- 
dence that  there  are  no  other  flames  kindling, 
if  not  burning  in  other  parts  of  the  system, 
and  whose  heat  deepens  the  scarlet  already 
upon  the  cheek.  And  if  this  be  true,  how 
can  a  certain  number  be  selected,  of  whom  it 
may  be  indisputably  affirmed,  that  the  only 
disease  from  which  they  are  suffering,  is  that 
for  which  they  have  been  specially  chosen  ? 
Yet  this  the  '*  test "  presupposes  ;  it  assumes 
that  the  patients  to  be  prayed  for,  and  those 
for  whom  prayers  have  not  been  asked,  are 
exactly  of  the  same  constitutional  tempera- 
ment, and  are  afflicted  with  the  same  malady. 
Where  the  professional  skill  or  insight  equal 
to  the  task  here  proposed  ? 

The  suggested  experiment  assumes  also, — 
Secondly.  That  the  restoration  of  those  who 
may  have  been  prayed  for  will  be  for  the 


THE  PRA  YER  TEST.  155 

highest  good  and  happiness  of  the  world. 
Now,  that  God  has  not  His  special  purposes, 
as  have  other  persons,  in  all  His  numerous 
acts,  whatever  they  may  be ;  and  in  order  to 
secure  certain  ends,  knows  many  modes  of 
operation;  and  that  it  may  not  be  for  His 
glory,  as  well  as  for  the  well-being  of  the  in- 
valid, that  he  should  not  be  restored,  cannot 
be  successfully  questioned.  A  storm  is  far 
more  welcome  and  desirable  at  times,  than  the 
brightest  sun  or  the  clearest  sky.  And  when 
it  is  remembered,  how  indifferent  some  are  to 
the  blessings  which  they  may  daily  receive; 
and  how  also  God,  in  order  to  secure  His 
purposes,  abandoning  smiles,  is  forced  to  em- 
ploy frowns  and  blows,  and  the  great  end  of 
chastisement,  and  His  numerous  hidden  pur- 
poses therein — who  shall  say,  if  the  sick  one 
is  not  restored,  though  prayed  for,  it  will  not 
be  as  much  for  his  ultimate  happiness  as  for 
the  honor  and  glory  of  God  % 

' ' a  friend  that  fro^vns, 

Is  better  than  a  smiling  enemy." 

And  is  it  true  that  this  kind  of  visitation 
contemplates  but  one  end,  and  that  to  test 
the  skill  of  physicians,  or  the  devotions  of 
the  pious  ?    Does  this  merit  our  belief  \    And 


156  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

since,  at  times,  the  moral  fate  of  an  invalid 
may  depend  upon  his  remaining  ill,  is  it  in 
harmony  with  the  teachings  of  reason  to  be- 
lieve, that  God  would  permit  the  moral  future 
of  His  meanest  child  to  be  sacrificed,  to  con- 
vince the  doubting  of  the  true  value  of 
prayer  %  In  brief,  the  whole  question  here 
is — Are  all  of  God's  purposes  in  sickness  to 
be  ignored.  His  will  set  aside,  in  order  that  a 
certain  test  may  be  applied  to  gratify  the 
curiosity  of  an  experimenter  ?  Can  such  an 
estimate  of  God  be  successfully  defended  \ 

The  "  test "  assumes  also, — 

Thirdly.  That  betvveenjhe  moral  and  phys- 
ical worlds  there  is  a  division  as  marked  as 
are  the  agencies  which  are  employed  in  these 
worlds.  That  the  prescription  of  the  physi- 
cian may  accomplish  something  is  admitted, 
and  that  prayer  has  a  certain  value  is  also 
conceded;  but  has  prayer  a.  value  in  the 
realm  of  the  physical  ?  Now  what  are  the 
immediate  relations  which  exist  between  the 
moral  and  physical  worlds,  or  how  they  are 
woven  or  interwoven,  we  do  not  propose  to 
say,  beyond  remarking — that  they  are  inter- 
twined, and  in  a  manner  apparent  even  to  a 
casual  observer.  Mind,  we  are  well  aware,  is 
a  force  in  the  world,  and  upon  nearly  every 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  157 

object  with  which  we  are  familiar  we  discover 
traces  of  its  potent  influences ;  and  whenever 
it  is  exercised,  it  affects,  in  some  form,  the 
bringing  about  of  events  in  the  physical 
world.  It  can  cover  arid  wastes  with  refresh- 
ing waters,  and  make  deleterious  swamps  so 
healthful  as  to  become  the  abodes  of  men. 
Indeed,  every  mental  effort  affects  in  some 
measure  our  physical  frame,  and  so  ultimately 
affects  the  world  without.  And  so  of  our 
physical  frame.  It  is  not  only  most  inti- 
mately related  to  the  mind,  but  its  condition 
influences  the  mind;  and  between  it  and  the 
mind  there  is  a  most  wondrous  sympathy.  As 
to  the  exact  mode  in  which  mind  acts  on  mat- 
ter, or  conversely,  in  which  matter  operates 
on  mind,  it  does  not  come  within  our  purjDose 
to  discuss,  beyond  observing — that  the  one 
does  act  upon  the  other,  and  acts  either 
directly  or  through  a  medium.  But  where 
the  acknowledgment  of  any  relation  between 
these  two  distinct  worlds,  if  it  is  proposed  to 
isolate  a  certain  few,  to  the  operation  of 
special  influences,  while  from  the  others  this 
same  influence  shall  be  as  sacredly  withheld? 

This  leads  to  the  remark,  that  the  proposed 
*'test"  assumes, — 

Fourthly,  That  certain  events,  to  which  we 


158  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

are  subject  in  this  life,  however  intimately 
they  may  be  allied  with  our  j)resent  happi- 
ness, depend  for  their  fulfillment  upon  the 
action  of  physical  laws,  and  physical  laws 
only;  rather  than  uj)on  the  operation  of  those 
laws,  which  are  subject  to  modification,  in 
their  operation,  by  the  intervention  of  man 
or  the  will  of  a  higher  being, — as  God.  Now 
cures  may  be  wrought,  and  most  thoroughly, 
through  the  normal  operation  of  medicine ; 
and  this  may  be  the  channel  through  which 
may  come  healing  in  many  of  our  homes  and 
hospitals;  but  while  this  may  be  conceded, 
it  is  equally  true,  that  the  remedies  may  be 
interfered  with.  For  the  law  of  a  specific 
drug  is  not  an  omnij^otent  law,  since  it  can  be 
thwarted  as  can  other  laws.  Should  one  of  the 
chosen  invalids  so  determine,  what  is  there  to 
prevent  his  defeating,  by  the  mere  act  of  will, 
the  natural  results  of  the  drug  which  may 
have  been  prescribed  for  him,  either  through 
excessive  exercise,  forced  wakefulness,  studied 
carelessness,  or  by  exposure  % 

There  is  power  in  certain  prescriptions; 
and  their  efiTect,  with  a  certain  degree  of 
exactness,  can  be  predicated ;  but  though 
most  carefully  compounded,  and  adaj^ted  to 
the    sufferings   of   the  patient,  is    there  not 


i^' 


THE  PR  A  YER  TEST.  159 

room  for  another  power — will ;  and  may  not 
the  character  of  its  action  secure  results, 
which  would  not  have  been  secured,  had  it 
not  been  exercised,  as  it  may  have  been  ex- 
ercised ?  Are  we  to  believe  that  a  patient 
cannot  intercalate  a  force  which  may  af- 
fect, and  largely,  the  action  of  the  drug 
which  he  may  have  swallowed  !  But  where, 
in  the  proposed  experiment,  the  recognition 
of  this  power  ?  Or  who  can  tell,  whether  in 
the  designated  w^ard  there  may  not,  by  the 
exercise  of  will,  be  a  series  of  constant  inter- 
ferences with  the  legitimate  action  of  the 
medicine,  and  of  a  character  that  must  disturb 
the  reliability  of  any  conclusion,  which  may 
be  rendered,  as  to  the  real  forces  which  have 
been  in  oj)eration  ? 

The  "  test "  assumes, — 

Fiftlily.  That  the  power  of  prayer,  in  the 
case  or  realm  alluded  to,  is  not  to  be  believed, 
until  it  has  been  tried. 

As  if  faith  were  not  an  element,  and  a  nec- 
essary element  in  successful  prayer,  or  that 
a  prayer  abounding  in  scepticism  could  be 
efficacious.  It  may  be  possible  to  so  adjust 
scales,  as  to  detect  the  very  smallest  discern- 
ible material  substance  ;  but  who  can  con- 
struct balances  which  will  allow  for  such  a 


IQQ  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

force  as  faitli  ?  Or  is  it  possible  to  subject 
to  a  positive  experiment  an  agency  of  wliicli 
a  necessary  constituent  is  immaterial?  True, 
tlie  density  of  tlie  atmosphere,  and  the 
velocity  of  the  wind,  and  the  presence  of 
other  invisible  forces  in  the  material  universe, 
have  been  weighed  and  measured  with  a  cor- 
rectness creditable  to  human  skill ;  but  how 
can  that  force  be  measured,  the  efficiency  of 
which  depends  upon  childlike,  humble  faith, 
and  faith  in  him  who  would  use  this  force  ? 
Or  what  can  be  predicated,  from  the  exercise 
of  an  agency,  when  a  vital  element  in  that 
agency  is  to  be  withheld,  or  held  in  suspense  ? 
Measure  a  force  and  yet  keep  back  jDart  of  it ! 
Conclusions  are  reliable  only  as  they  embody 
the  constituent  factors  of  both  premises.  And 
yet  the  proposed  experiment  assumes,  that  a 
reliable  conclusion  can  be  reached,  though  but 
a  single  premise  be  considered  ;  or  that  a 
result  may  be  regarded  as  reliable  while  an 
element,  which  largely  affects  it,  is  held  in 
abeyance,  or  withdrawn  until  it,  the  result,  is 
known. 

Such  are  some  of  the  assumj)tions  which 
this  famous  gauge  involves ;  and  they  are  as 
gratuitous  as  they  are  extravagant,  and  in- 
capable of  successful  defence. 


THE  PRAYER   TEST.  161 

But  let  us  examine  it  with  greater  direct- 
ness. And  since  we  have  seen  what  Prayer 
truly  is,  what  it  involves,  and  its  relation 
to  physical  phenomena,  it  will  be  only  neces- 
sary for  us  to  comment  upon  some  of  its  pecu- 
liar characteristics. 

I.  The  first  remark,  therefore,  of  a  positive 
nature  which  we  would  make  in  regard  to  it, 
is  this  :  the  ^'  test "  is  wholly  inapplicable  to 
the  thing  which  is  to  be  tested. 

The  proposition  is,  as  has  been  stated,  to 
measure  the  power  of  prayer,  in  its  relation 
to  the  sick,  in  a  special  ward  of  a  hospital. 
Now  it  is  well  known,  that  the  methods  by 
which  we  acquire  certain  facts,  pertaining  to 
many  of  the  phenomena  of  the  world,  vary  as 
do  the  objects  concerning  which  we  have  a 
more  extended  familiarity.  Would  we  know, 
e?.  ^.,  the  velocity  of  the  wind,  at  once  we  ex- 
pose to  its  current  an  anemometer,  and  if  it 
is  correctly  constructed  and  adjusted,  as 
would  be  the  pointer  upon  its  dial,  so  would 
be  the  speed  which,  at  this  same  hour  or 
minute,  it  would  be  traveling.  Would  we 
ascertain  the  density  or  the  rarity  of  the  at- 
mosphere, we  would  subject  to  its  influence 
an  aerometer ;  and  as  would  be  its  disclosures, 
so  would  we  believe  to  be  its  then  condition. 
8 


162  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Or  would  one  acquaint  himself  witli  the  sen- 
sible heat  of  a  body,  as  water,  or  the  atmos- 
phere— by  exposing  a  thermometer  to  its 
action,  at  once  he  would  have  the  solution 
sought.  Would  we  know  the  extent  of  a 
farm,  we  apply  to  it  the  chain  ;  our  fuel  we 
measure  by  a  pole  or  by  weight ;  fabrics  are 
measured  by  the  yard ;  and  food  in  general 
by  the  pound.  In  brief,  as  is  the  object  whose 
relations  we  desire  to  know,  so  is  the  charac- 
ter of  the  test  which  we  employ  ;  nor  would 
one  any  more  think  of  familiarizing  himself 
with  food,  as  bread  or  beef,  by  means  of  an 
anemometer,  than  of  measuring  the  speed  of 
the  wind  by  a  chain,  or  the  size  of  his  farm 
by  a  weight.  Every  object  has  its  own  specific 
tentative  method ;  and  these  methods  are  no 
more  interchangeable  than  are  the  objects 
themselves.  And  the  value  of  a  test,  as  we 
know,  consists  in  its  uniformity.  Variety 
and  irregularity  may  be  appropriate  and  revel 
elsewhere,  but  not  when  a  standard  is  the 
strategic  point.  Indeed,  it  is  the  presence  of 
regularity  and  uniformity  which  give  a  test 
its  true  value :  nay,  in  the  word  itself,  we 
recognize  the  result  of  previous  trials ;  and 
therefore,  in  one  sense,  its  synonym  is  proof ; 
and  proof   arising   not  from   inconstancy  or 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  163 

changeableness,  but  from  a  previous  fixedness, 
or  regularity  of  action.  And  a  scientific  test, 
if  it  mean  anything,  means  an  absolute  de- 
monstration, or  a  regularity  which  is  the 
product  of  but  one  rule  or  mode  of  action. 

Seeing,  then,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  that  the  test  which  is  to  be  applied  to 
an  object  differs,  and  differs  as  is  the  charac- 
ter of  the  thing  to  be  inquired  into,  and  that 
the  value  of  a  scientific  test  consists  in  its 
aptness  and  uniformity  ;  how  is  it  possible  to 
apply  to  prayer  a  test,  in  which,  so  far  as  its 
answer  is  concerned,  the  action  of  the  will  of 
a  person,  as  is  God,  is  to  be  included  ?  For 
as  we  have  already  observed,  answers  to 
prayer  are  not  predicated  upon  the  mere 
desire  or  demand  of  a  petitioner,  but  upon 
that  sublime  hypothesis,  "  Not  my  will,  but 
Thine  be  done."  Its  replies  are  conditional. 
And  can  any  test  be  applied  to  prayer,  in 
relation  to  the  individual,  which  can  take 
cognizance  of  this  same  will — the  free  and 
active  will  of  God?  Extensive  hav^e  been 
the  acquirements  which  man  has  made,  both 
as  regards  his  own  name  and  nature,  as  well 
as  the  world  in  which  he  moves.  He  can 
measure  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  along  its 
uneven  bed  lay  a  line  that  can  be  made  the 


164  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

medium  for  words  of  congratulation  and  of 
love.  He  can  know  the  altitudes  of  the  high- 
est mountains,  though  his  feet  never  press 
their  snowy  sides.  From  a  chamber  in  his 
dwelling,  he  can  ascertain  the  diameter  of 
every  sun — the  occultation  of  every  planet, 
the  weight  of  every  comet,  and  the  return  of 
every  heavenly  body.  All  the  flowers,  from 
the  humble  mountj^in-bell  to  the  full-grown 
and  magnificent  lily  of  the  tro23ics,  he  can 
classify  as  children  of  the  same  parentage,  and 
of  the  same  household.  And  from  the  hills  he 
can  quarry  stones,  and  out  of  them  chisel  forms 
and  figures  of  such  marvellous  beauty,  as  shall 
not  only  invest  his  name  with  deserved  honor, 
but  also  crown  him  with  unfading  glory. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  the  skill  which  he 
has  thus  far  applied,  and  the  ingenuity  which 
he  has  put  forth,  and  thought — hard,  patient, 
persevering  thought — where  and  when,  and  of 
what  and  by  whom  was  there  ever  a  gauge 
constructed,  by  which  even  his  own  volitions 
could  be  measured,  still  less,  the  will,  the  in- 
finite will,  of  God  ? 

Give  to  mind  all  that  the  most  enthusiastic 
may  desire  to  claim,  and  allow  to  every  in- 
strument the  most  perfect  sensitiveness  of 
which  it  may  be  capable ;  and  admit  also  that 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  165 

the  adaptation  and  adjustment  of  all  parts 
were  accurate  in  the  extreme ;  yet  on  what 
soil,  by  what  hands,  and  of  what  fabric  has  a 
criterion  been  fashioned,  which  is  capable  of 
detecting  the  influence  of  that  faculty  of  the 
mind,  by  which  we  determine  to  do  or  for- 
bear? This  has  never  been  accomplished; 
nor  have  any  claimed  thus  to  do.  Where, 
then,  the  applicability  of  a  "  test,"  whicli 
makes  no  provision  for  such  exercise  ? 

It  is  far  from  our  purpose  here  to  discuss 
the  character  and  applicability  of  evidence. 
It  is  sufficient,  if  we  say  that  the  nature  of 
the  evidence  which  is  required  to  establish 
certain  truths,  is  as  variable  as  may  be  the 
truths  whose  demonstration  is  sought.  As 
"  all  flesh  is  not  the  same  flesh,  but  there  is 
one  kind  of  flesh  of  men,  another  flesh  of 
beasts,  another  of  fishes,  another  of  birds,  and 
there  are  also  celestial  bodies  and  bodies  ter- 
restrial ; "  so  also  with  evidence ;  it  is  of 
varied  species.  And  that  is  not  the  only 
evidence  which  is  to  be  received,  which  comes 
to  us  through  experiment.  For  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  spiritual  evidence  and  moral  evi- 
dence, as  well  as  scientific  and  mathematical 
evidence ;  and  as  physical  truths,  for  their 
confirmation,  require  experimental  evidence, 


166  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

SO  do  moral  truths,  for  their  establishment, 
require  moral  evidence.  And  since  prayer  is 
a  moral  truth,  its  proofs  are  not  as  those  which 
come  to  us  through  certain  prescribed  tests ; 
but  they  are  as  is  prayer  itself;  and  what 
other  mode  have  we  of  establishing  truths, 
having  a  moral  signification,  than  by  moral 
means  ? 
t-^'  Given,  e.  ^.,  as  a  problem :  "  sloth  makes 
all  things  difficult,  but  industry  all  things 
easy ;  "  or,  "  what  maintains  one  vice  would 
bring  up  two  children."  How  are  such 
moral  facts  to  be  substantiated  ?  If  we 
are  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  scientists, 
their  proof  is  to  be  purely  scientific.  What 
then  shall  it  be  ?  Shall  they  be  such  as  we 
would  employ,  when  we  would  prove  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil;  the  density  of  the  atmos- 
phere ;  the  velocity  of  light ;  or  the  sjDecific 
gravity  of  solids  ?  I^ay,  can  such  truths  be 
thus  proven  ?  Or,  in  yonder  home,  there  may 
be  a  bright,  cheery  lad,  yearning,  perchance, 
to  occupy  the  special  field  for  which  he 
feels  God  designed  him ;  and  his  parents, 
deeply  sympathizing  in  the  noble  purpose 
which  he  may  have  formed,  and  alive  to  the 
perils  with  which,  in  his  career,  he  must  be 
threatened;  to  impress  still  more  upon  him. 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  167 

tlian  as  yet  they  may  have  done,  the  impor- 
tance of  purity,  industry,  and  perfect  integ- 
rity in  all  he  may  do,  tell  him  anew,  if  he 
would  be  successful  and  loved  in  life,  and 
rewarded,  and  happy  in  death,  the  paths  of 
virtue,  of  honesty,  of  godliness,  and  of  tem- 
perance are  the  only  paths  in  which  he  must 
walk.  He  must  be  pure,  and  chaste,  and 
honest ;  truthful  and  holy ;  and  avoid,  so  far 
as  he  may  be  able,  every  known  path  which 
leads  to  sin.  But  doubting,  in  a  measure, 
the  perfect  truthfulness  of  these  parental 
counsels — suppose  to  verify  them,  he  were  to 
propose,  that  in  a  certain  home,  or  in  some 
reformatory,  the  experiment  be  tried  of  allow- 
ing a  certain  number  of  its  inmates  the  very 
indulgences  against  which  he  has  been  cau- 
tioned; while,  on  the  other  hand,  others,  in 
the  same  institution,  should  be  most  sacredly 
guarded  from  every  temptation  and  sin, — how 
quickly  would  the  parents  of  this  same  one 
arrest  the  discussion,  by  showing  to  their 
loved  one,  that  virtue  and  honesty, — nay,  that 
every  moral  and  holy  act  is  to  be  obeyed, 
not  so  much  because  it  is  commanded,  as  for 
its  own  sake ;  and  as  they  have  their  own 
reward,  so  have  they  also  a  natural  claim  on 
every   on^'s   obedience.      Or   discarding   the 


168  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

proof  demanded,  would  they  not  at  once 
point  their  boy  to  the  issues  of  virtue  and 
honesty,  as  already  discoverable  in  the 
lives  of  others,  and  tell  him  there  is  more 
than  one  method  by  which  great  facts  or 
truths  can  be  established  \  Would  it  not  be 
maintained,  and  could  any  one  question,  that 
there  are  evidences  as  conclusive,  and  as  con- 
vincing, and  fully  as  irrefutable,  in  the  de- 
partment of  morals,  as  other  kinds  of  evidence 
may  be  in  the  special  arena  to  which  they 
may  appertain  ?  The  devout  scientist  believes 
in  the  existence  of  a  God ;  and  yet  he  cannot 
absolutely  demonstrate  God's  existence.  He 
may  render  it  possible,  nay  probable ;  but  not 
certain.  For  after  he  has  marshaled  together 
all  Ms  numerous  facts,  bearing  on  this  ques- 
tion, as  others,  he  must  end  his  investigations 
by  simply  believing.  It  is  through  faith  that 
we  come  to  accept  the  first  cause ;  "  througli 
faith,"  as  the  apostle  expresses  it,  "  we  under- 
stand the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  Word 
of  God."  And  so  in  the  realm  of  which  we 
are  speaking.  As  it  is  not  through  the  chan- 
nel of  so-called  "  scientific  experiment,"  that 
purely  moral  truths  are  to  be  known,  any 
more  than  scientific  truths  depend  for  their 
acceptance  upon  a  moral  demonstration ;  but 


THE  PRA  YER   TEST.  169 

as  the  objects  differ,  so  likewise  must  the  evi- 
dence differ ;  and  as  proofs,  in  one  realm  of  in- 
vestigation, are  fully  as  conclusive  as  are  the 
proofs  in  another  realm  ;  and  as  the  kingdom 
of  nature  and  the  kingdom  of  grace  are  dif- 
ferent ;  different,  therefore,  must  be  the  modes 
of  establishing  the  facts  aimed  to  be  proven, 
appertaining  to  these  separate  realms.  And 
hence  to  demand  for  the  truthfulness  of  a 
moral  or  spiritual  phenomenon,  such  kind  of 
evidence  as  can  only  be  found  in  connection 
with  j)hysical  phenomena,  is  not  only  un- 
natural and  unscientific,  but  it  is  as  wild,  and 
as  ungenerous,  as  it  would  be  to  demand  of 
the  believer  in  prayer,  through  the  laws  by 
which  he  was  led  thus  to  believe,  that  the 
world  was  a  globe,  or  that  all  right  angles 
are  equal  to  each  other. 

Not  so !  As  every  realm  of  knowledge  has 
its  own  peculiar  modes  of  investigation,  keep- 
ing to  its  own  proper  field,  let  each  test  all 
the  phenomena  which  may  relate  to  it,  by  its 
own  particular  and  heaven-given  laws.  The 
chemist  is  to  demonstrate  what  he  would  have 
us  receive,  by  the  mode  of  proof  which  be- 
longs to  his  study;  and  the  geologist  is  to 
verify  what  he  would  have  us  accept,  by  his 
specific  mode ;  and  the  mathematician  is  to 
8* 


170  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

make  good  his  assertions,  through  the  process 
of  demonstration ;  and  so  with  the  scientist 
and  others;  and  what  each  may  severally  sub- 
stantiate, under  the  laws  of  the  realm  to 
which  he  may  appertain,  must  be  accepted. 
And  what  in  the  world  of  grace  may  be 
established,  in  harmony  with  its  mode  of  de- 
monstration, is  likewise  to  be  accepted.  And 
as  the  chemist  would  not  ask  the  mathemati- 
cian for  the  evidences  of  his  assertions,  through 
a  process  known  only  to  the  laboratory ;  or 
the  mathematician  expect  his  theorems  to  be 
demonstrated  as  the  geologist  would  prove 
his  affirmations;  but  each  would  produce 
those  evidences,  and  only  those,  which  relate 
to  his  own  field,  so  with  the  scientist.  As 
ail  moral  evidences  are  wholly  inapplicable 
/  for  testing  physical  phenomena,  alike  irrelevant 
is  the  application  of  any  physical  test  for 
'  ascertaining,  or  for  verifying,  the  truthfulness 
f    of  phenomena  purely  spiritual. 

But  not  only  is  the  proposed  test  inapplica- 
ble to  the  thing  to  be  tested,  but — 

II.  It  is  neither  recognized  nor  admitted  in 
the  true  theory  of  prayer. 

Now  what  is  the  true  theory  of  prayer,  as 
established  by  reason,  and  confirmed  by  ex- 
perience and  revelation,  it  is  not  necessary  for 


THE  PRA  YER  TEST.  171 

US  to  repeat,  beyond  remarking,  that  accepta- 
ble prayer  never  stipulates  for  any  particular 
form  of  belief,  nor  does  it  contain  in  it  any 
element  of  doubt,  still  less  is  it  imperative 
either  in  its  tone  or  manner ;  nor  does  it  con- 
template selfish  or  ungenerous  ends.  These 
form  no  part  of  genuine  prayer ;  on  the  other 
hand,  true  prayer  is  supplicatory  and  sub- 
missive, rather  than  peremptory  and  domi- 
nant ;  and  its  sentiment  and  language  are  of 
entreaty,  not  of  demand.  And  yet,  if  the 
"  test,"  which  has  been  submitted,  means  any- 
thing, it  means  that  if  a  certain  number  of 
believers  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  should  give 
themselves  to  supplication  for  a  number  of 
patients  in  a  hospital,  if  it  avails  in  this 
realm,  cures  would  be  wrought  in  answer  to 
it ;  but  should  the  sick  be  no  further  ad- 
vanced in  recovery,  or  should  there  be  no  de- 
crease in  their  mortality,  than  in  the  oppo- 
site ward,  where  prayer,  as  an  instrumental 
agent,  had  not  been  employed,  it  would  be 
because  prayer  did  not  possess  the  power 
which  had  been  claimed  for  it ;  nor  did  it 
avail  in  that  kingdom,  in  which  its  might,  if 
might  it  is,  had  been  solicited.  As  though 
God  had  pat  the  government  of  the  universe 
into  the  hands  of  His  creatures  ;  or  as  though 


172  VEDDER  LECTURES, 

prayer  liad  in  it  sucli  elements  as  force,  or 
necessity ;  or  that  God  had  stipuLated,  even 
mth  His  praying  children,  what  should  be  the 
exact  character  of  His  answers  to  their  peti- 
tions ;  or  that  there  w^ere  not  times  in  which 
it  might  be  said  even  of  the  elect,  "  ye  know 
not  what  ye  ask ;"  or  that  there  conld  be  holy 
prayer,  which,  whatever  may  be  the  language 
employed,  or  ends  sought,  the  prayer  or  pray- 
ers having  been  offered,  its  power  depended 
upon  God's  answering  it  in  the  special  way  or 
form,  in  which  a  return  to  it  had  been  de- 
manded. And  must  it  be  said  again,  that  the 
spirit  which  is  manifested  in  such  a  prayer, 
has  no  existence  in  holy  supplication  ?  For, 
as  has  been  remarked,  prayer  is  contingent 
and  never  imperative  ;  God's  will  isa  promi- 
nent factor  in  all  answers  to  it.  And  if  the 
demand  which  may  be  made  of  Him  is  "  ac- 
cording to  His  will,"  then,  says  the  one  Avho 
would  pray  aright,  "  let  this  my  wish,  O  Lord, 
be  granted;  but  if  it  be  not  Thy  will,  as 
Thou  seest  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and 
knowest  what  is  best,  and  I  know  not  what 
to  ask  for  as  I  ought,  still  give  me  what  I 
need,  but  not  in  the  form  in  which,  in  my 
ignorance,  I  have  asked ;  but  in  that  form 
which  shall  be  best  for  Thy  glory,  as  well  as 
for  my  happiness." 


THE  PRA  YER  TEST.  173 

Indeed,  if  Grod  had  ever  distinctly  stipu- 
lated, that  His  answers  to  the  prayers  of  men 
would  be  in  perfect  conformity  with  their  re- 
quests; if  they  sought  at  His  hands  bread, 
bread  they  should  receive,  and  not  a  stone ; 
or  if  they  asked  a  fish,  He  would  give  them  a 
fish,  and  not  a  serpent ;  or  if  we  had  any  rea- 
son to  believe,  that  the  universe  had  been  set 
up  and  arranged  in  all  its  many  parts,  very 
much  as  an  organ  has  been  set  up  and  ar- 
ranged by  its  maker ;  and  having  reeds  and 
pipes  of  different  sizes,  and  of  different  metals, 
with  key-board,  and  stops  and  pedals,  so  that, 
by  our  playing  upon  it  by  prayer,  we  could 
obtain  responses,  fully  as  sweet  and  regular  as 
the  touch  of  hand  or  foot  responds  to  the 
organist's  will;  then  we  might  hope,  as  were  our 
requests,  so  would  be  our  replies.  But  is  this 
God's  mode  of  action  ?  Where  is  the  evidence 
that  He  has  withdrawn  from  the  universe,  and 
left  it  to  His  children,  as  some  instrument  uj)on 
which  as  they  play,  so  shall  be  the  response ; 
if  the  bass  pedal  receive  our  pressure,  large 
shall  be  our  gifts,  or  the  minor  key  is  moved, 
small  shall  be  our  return  !  Or  dropping  the 
figure,  if  our  prayers  to  Him  are  comprehen- 
sive, free  and  bountiful  shall  be  our  supj^ly  ; 
while  should  they  be  limited,  narrow,  and  as 
superficial  as  the  cry  of  an  infant,  so   also 


1Y4  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

should  be  our  reward  ?  Where  have  we  been 
thus  told ;  or  through  w^hat  means,  or  upon 
what  tablet,  do  we  find  chiselled  any  such 
record  ? 

Let  us  assume  for  a  moment,  that  the  posi- 
tion which  the  scientist  here  adopts  concern- 
ing acceptable  prayer,  is  the  true  condition, 
and  established  by  a  mode  of  proof  with 
which  he  may  be  satisfied ;  see  to  what  it 
logically  conducts  us.  A  certain  number 
intercede  with  God  in  behalf  of  a  special  fa- 
vor, the  granting  of  which,  in  their  estima- 
tion, will  not  only  be  to  the  honor  of  God,  but 
of  great  advantage  to  themselves ;  and  that 
favor  may  be  the  recovery  of  certain  ]3risoners 
from  a  dangerous  malady,  who  are  confined  in 
a  well-known  hospital.  Others  again,  prompt- 
ed by  no  such  mock  sympathy,  but  feeling  it 
would  be  far  preferable,  both  for  the  prison- 
ers and  the  public  generally,  that  they  should 
not  be  restored  to  their  accustomed  health, 
plead  that  God  v/ould  hear  their  prayers. 
Now  if  it  be  true,  that  prayer  should  be  an- 
swered because  it  has  been  offered,  and  in 
both  instances,  the  petitions  which  were 
winged  heavenward  came  from  the  heart; 
God  is  bound  to  answer  the  prayers  of  the 
one  as  well  as  of  the  other.     But  how  can 


THE  PRA  YER   TEST.  175 

He  thus  do?  Is  an  antagonism  any  the  less 
antagonistic  because  it  confronts  God  ?  Can 
even  the  Infinite  harmonize  admitted  contra- 
dictions ?  If  He  answer  the  prayers  of  those 
seeking  the  recovery  of  the  criminals,  then 
He  does  not  answer  those,  equally  as  earnest, 
and  equally  as  sincere,  who  have  asked  that 
they  be  not  healed ;  and  if,  on  the  other 
hand.  He  refuses  to  restore,  while  replying 
to  those  who  thus  importuned,  He  has  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  those  who  would  have  Him  act 
differently  !  If  the  true  notion  of  prayer  be, 
so  far  as  an  answer  is  concerned,  that  it  has 
been  sincerely  offered,  how  is  God  to  act, 
when  prayers  of  equal  earnestness  are  present- 
ed to  Him,  having  purj^oses  entirely  different  ? 
God,  and  we  speak  it  with  the  greatest  rever- 
ence, can  no  more  be  guilty  of  an  inherent 
impossibility  than  can  His  humblest  creature; 
His  very  being  forbids  this.  But  say  that 
prayer  is  conditional,  God's  pleasure,  and  not 
only  is  there  still  reserved  to  Him  the  uncon- 
trolled management  of  His  •  universe,  but 
there  is  room  for  the  desire  of  every  heart, 
whatever  it  may  be ;  and  all  can  pray  with 
the  same  degree  of  earnestness,  and  with  the 
hope,  that  their  petition  will  be  heard,  and 
enter  into  His  plans  and  designs. 


176  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

But  the  scientist,  in  substance,  respond^ 
No ;  if  devout  prayer  be  offered  to  God  in  be- 
half of  the  sick  and  suffering,  and  remains 
unanswered,  it  is  because  it  is  limited  in  its 
scope,  nor  has  it  any  influence  in  the  physical 
world.  Never  can  this  be  true,  nor  is  it  to 
be  admitted,  until  it  is  shown  that  the  re- 
covery of  the  subject,  for  whom  intercession 
had  been  made,  is  for  the  glory  of  God,  and 
for  their  own  happiness  ;  and  that  it  is  God's 
will  that  they  should  be  restored;  and  that 
Omnipotence  has  surrendered  His  care  over 
the  world — nay,  abandoned  it  to  the  caprices 
of  His  creatures. 

But  again,  we  regard  the  proposed  test  as 
impossible,  likewise, — 

HI.  From  the  fact,  that  it  could  never  be 
known  how  much  acceptable  or  true  prayer 
had  been  offered  for  the  few,  for  whose  bene- 
fit it  had  been  requested. 

In  this  the  nineteenth  century,  the  sun 
shines  with  no  greater  brightness  than  when 
God  placed  it  in  its  orbit;  nor  are  the  flowers 
of  deeper  tint  or  purer  in  dye,  or  the 
air  which  floats  about  us  any  sweeter,  than 
what  our  first  parents  breathed,  as  they 
walked  the  glades  of  Eden.  Unintelligent 
nature,  in  no  essential  feature,  has  changed 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  \*l*l 

since  it  became  the  visible  smile  of  God. 
Not  so,  however,  with  man,  God's  master- 
piece, in  whose  image  once  he'  stood  re- 
splendently  clothed.  But,  notwithstanding 
his  ancestry,  his  endowments,  his  capacity, 
in  one  sense,  how  limited  have  been  his  at- 
tainments, and  especially  in  those  things 
which  relate  to  his  name  and  nature  !  How 
circumscribed  his  knowledge  of  the  origin  of 
his  thoughts,  of  the  causes  which  influence 
him  in  his  actions,  and  of  the  mode  in  which 
the  forces  within  him  act ;  and  in  the  many 
avenues  open  to  him,  how  numerous  are  the 
obstructions  which  have  yet  to  be  removed !  _ 
Now,  in  the  department  in  which  our  in- 
vestigations are  being  conducted,  that  it  is 
not  possible  for  man  to  experience  want,  and 
to  express  it  in  a  way  that  may  be  pleasing 
to  God,  certainly  no  one,  familiar  with  the 
workings  of  his  own  heart,  will  be  disposed 
to  dispute.  But  though  conscious  of  per- 
sonal needs,  and  able  to  give  them  such  ex- 
pression as  will  contribute  largely  towards 
their  alleviation,  by  what  process  can  he 
know  the  real  condition  of  the  heart  of  his 
brother;  and  whether  the  words  which  may 
fall  from  his  lips,  or  the  actions  of  which  he 
may  be  guilty,  are,  in  any  respect,  truthful 


1Y8  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

transcripts  of  the  soul, — tlie  one  answering 
to  the  other,  as  the  seal  to  the  die,  or  the  die 
to  the  seal.  True,  he  can  pray ;  there  is  an  out- 
let for  the  movement  of  his  heart,  as  there 
is  for  every  spring  which  gladdens  the  earth ; 
and  as  the  spring  has  many  ways  of  reaching 
the  surface,  so  there  is  more  than  one  method 
by  which  he  can  make  known  his  soul-felt 
desires.  But  who  will  dare  affirm,  if  one 
hundred  professed  believers  should  agree  to 
pray  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  certain 
event,  their  prayers  would  be  their  true  de- 
sires ?  Not  that  we  mean  to  say  any  would 
solemnly  pledge  themselves  to  intercede  with 
God,  reserving  to  themselves  the  privilege, 
whensoever  inclined,  to  vitiate  their  vow ;  or 
that  they  would  enter  into  such  a  covenant  as 
holy  prayer  demands,  with  a  secret  determi- 
nation never  to  abide  by  it;  but  much  which 
is  called  prayer,  after  all,  is  not  prayer ;  nor 
is  all  that  which  is  popularly  denominated 
supplication,  the  kind  which  God  hears.  And 
if,  therefore,  our  prayers  be  such  that  God 
does  not  hear  them,  or  are  not  the  true  ex- 
ponents of  the  then  condition  of  the  soul,  as 
we  have  intimated,  though  in  language  they 
are  as  sweet  as  the  tinkling  of  the  bells  which 
hung  round  the  hem  of  the  high  priest's  ephod, 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  179 

still  there  has  been  no  prayer.  Formalism  is 
not  prayer.  And  who  will  say  that,  at  times, 
this  charge  might  not  justly  be  laid  at  their 
feet.  True,  it  may  be,  when  the  hour  for 
their  special  devotions  arrived,  their  souls 
fairly  travailed  for  the  afflicted  ;  and,  on  the 
contrary,  is  it  not  quite  as  true,  that  habit 
may  have   usurped   the   throne  of    feeling  ? 

Yes,  they  recalled  the  heated  brows,  the 
exhausting  lassitude,  the  thirst,  and  the  like ; 
and  they  recalled  their  vows,  and  knew,  per- 
haps, that  the  eyes  of  the  world  were  turned 
upon  them  ;  and  as  would  be  their  verdict, 
so  would  many  believe  or  disbelieve ;  yet 
that  some  of  their  j)rayers — once,  twice,  thrice, 
or  more  frequently — were  not  the  product  of 
formality,  rather  than  of  deep  inner  feeling, 
of  the  lip  than  of  the  heart,  or  from  a  sense 
of  required  duty  than  from  absolute  love 
and  desire,  who  here  can  say  ?  How  can  this 
fact  be  disproved?  And  that  it  is  not  a 
fact,  we  need  but  sharply  scrutinize  the 
workings,  at  times,  of  our  own  heart. 

Reduce  prayer  to  its  very  lowest  conceiv- 
able level,  and  call  it,  if  it  be  desired,  a  drug ; 
and  is  it  true,  that  it  can  be  weighed  as  a 
drug ;  and  be  compounded  and  analyzed  as 
a  chemist  analyzes  a  prescription  ?    Is  it  true, 


180  VKUDKR   LECTUJ^ES. 

that  it  can  be  gathered  up  and  measured,  as  an 
apothecary  gathers  up  arnJ  measures  th(5  ma- 
teria medica  in  which  he  deals?  The  proper- 
ties of  any  pn^scription  can  easily  be  ascer- 
tained ;  hut  is  it  HO  with  Hupf)]ication ';!  Is 
there  any  chemistry  };y  wliich  true  prayer 
can  be  detected  from  that  which  is  false ;  any 
litmus  paper  by  which  it  can  be  tested'^  Or 
is  that  true  of  a  subtle  essence,  as  is  prayer, 
which  is  true  of  matter'^  And  can  that  be  a 
scientific  test,  in  wliich  a  perad venture  or  a 
contingency  is  involved?  The  scientist  clamors 
for  facts,  and  justly;  as  it  is  with  these  that 
he  deals,  and  upon  which  he  bases  his  affir- 
mations ;  and  yet,  in  the  realm  of  prayer,  he 
will  receive  and  l^elieve  that,  and  only  that, 
which  can  be  scientifically  demonstrated ; 
when  the  very  factors  u{)on  which  he  can 
predicate  what  is  true,  are  not  given  nor  can 
th(;y  be  ascertained.  Or  he  would  accept  as 
an  accurate,  test  a  result,  based  upon  assumed 
conditions,  while  j)erfectly  ignorant  of  their 
character. 

Suppose  the  Christians  in  this  community 
should  f)ledge  th(;mselves,  in  their  morning 
and  (;v(;ning  devotions,  to  pray  for  such  as 
may  be  sick,- in  a  certain  district,  in  this  or  in 
a  neighboring  city.     And  these  same  Chris- 


THE  PR  A  YER   TEST.  181 

tian.s  are  no  })etter,  nor  are  tliey  any  worse, 
than  otlier.s  hoarlni^  the;  same;  Jia[)i)y  name, 
wherev(;r  found.  Now  of  t}i(5  nnirjixjr  who 
may  thiiH  hav(;  promis(;(],  }k>w  many  may  it 
reaBonal>]y  he  Kiif)pos(;d  won  hi  nsally  and 
truly  [>ray  ?  W(;  do  not  ask,  how  many 
would  com[)ly  with  tlio  form  of  [)ray(;r  ;  for 
we  presume,  wlien  a  vow  falls  from  the  lif)H 
of  a  heliev(;r,  or  he  resolvcjs  to  do  a  thing,  it 
is  with  a  fix(}d  d(;termination  to  [ierforrri  tliat 
vow,  and  to  riiliill  tliat  resolve.  l*ijt  how 
many,  of  those  thus  Ijorn  anew,  would  pray 
the  prayer  of  genuine  feeling,  of  holy,  h(;art- 
felt  faith  ?  There  is  the  attitud(i,  anci  the 
language,  and  th(j  look,  and  the  tone;,  all  the 
aeeompaniments  of  pray(;r;  f)ut  how  mu(^h 
real,  fervent  prayer  would  he  offered  ?  And 
if  their  aim  he  m(;rely  to  test  its  (iffieaey,  we 
have  our  answ(.*r — the.icj  won  hi  he  no  g(;nuin(; 
prayer:  and  for  the  reason,  that  (iod  }i(;ars  no 
petition  whieh  at  hest  may  he  f)ut  a  half-he- 
lieving  inquiry;  or  whIeh,  while  it  would 
seek  a  favor  from  II im,  at  the  same  time 
questions  whether  lie  will  give  what 
may  he  ask(;d.  Would  Clod  himself  ahide 
by  the  humiliating  conditions  of  a  prayer- 
test?  But  sup[)ose  mueh  of  it — nay,  the 
greater  part  of  it,  to  he  such  as  (iod  approves, 


1S2  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

even  the  true  and  honest  conviction  of  the 
soul ;  yet,  as  we  are  so  frequently  remind- 
ed, since  science  deals  with  facts,  and  with 
facts  only,  and  discards  all  else ;  and  as  it 
not  merely  requires,but  demands  that  all  which 
it  receives  should  be  established  upon  a  basis 
that  can  admit  of  no  dispute ;  how  is  it  to  be 
known,  what  proportion  of  the  prayer  offered 
was  genuine,  acceptable  prayer  ?  The  prob- 
lem, observe,  is  to  test  prayer,  not  as  a  be- 
liever would,  but  in  obedience  to  the  re- 
cpiirements  of  science,  or  scientifically.  Now 
science  does  not  deal  witli  hypotheses  or 
probabilities.  Its  chief  boast  has  ever  been, 
that  it  holds  the  hypothetical,  the  presump- 
tive, and  the  conjectural  in  abeyance,  till  every 
vestige  of  doubt  is  removed ;  and  until  then, 
it  refuses  to  give  its  decisions.  And  still  the 
proposition  is,  to  test  in  a  way  that  will  ad- 
mit of  no  doubt,  or  by  facts  that  cannot  be 
gainsayed  another  fact,  or  a  certain  experi- 
ence, when  the  data  by  which  it  is  to  be 
established  cannot  be  approximately,  much 
less  scientifically,  ascertained.  Or  in  other  lan- 
guage, if  the  community,  whose  intercessions 
have  been  requested, plead  as  desired, as  it  is  only 
upon  the  supposition,that  they  have  acceptably 
prayed  that  any  result  can  be  affirmed,  and 


THE  PRA  YER  TEST.  183 

upon  a  supposition  only ;  since  the  scientist 
rejects  all  conjecture,  and  demands  the  posi- 
tive and  the  absolute;  how  can  this  require- 
ment be  met  ?  Or  how  can  he  secure  that 
datum  upon  which  he  would  be  justified  in  an- 
nouncing a  conclusion,  and  such  as  may  be 
reliable  ?  Were  a  supposition  of  the  same 
force  as  a  fact,  or  could  there  be  known  how 
many  in  truth  engaged  in  the  service  asked 
of  them,  then  the  conclusion  to  which  he 
might  come,  in  view  of  these  facts,  would  be 
such  as  results  from  known  factors ;  but  when 
there  are  other  factors  lying  beyond  his  cog- 
nizance, which  must  also  enter  into  his  con- 
clusions, can  that  be  a  scientific  conclusion, 
which  not  only  ignores  these  same  facts,  but 
to  which  there  is  given  the  same  significance, 
as  though  they  were  known  ? 

Though  then  praying  for  the  afflicted,  may 
be  a  most  benevolent  service,  and  justly 
asked  of  a  community;  and  though  many 
may  have  pledged  themselves  to  an  honest 
observance  of  such  a  request ;  still  from  the 
impossibility  of  ever  knowing  who,  of  the 
number  asked,  did  really  and  truly  pray,  and 
who  did  not ;  or  since  it  is  only  upon  known 
data,  that  any  correct  conclusion  can  be 
based ;  and  as  in  the  case  before  us,  all  the 


184  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

data  cannot  be  known,  tliougli  the  test  be  ap- 
plied, and  a  conclusion  announced ;  as  it  must 
have  that  which  is  conjectural  or  problemat- 
ical for  its  basis,  it  cannot  be  reliable.  And 
just  what  science  rejects,  in  this  relation, 
reason  also  rejects.  For  aside  from  all  special 
laws,  which  sway  the  sceptre  in  the  natural 
and  j)hysical  worlds,  it  is  the  teaching  of 
reason,  that  nothing  can  absolutely  or  irre- 
futably be  affirmed  of  that  whereof  all  the 
factors,  which  enter  into  the  same  affirmation, 
have  not  been  fully  weighed,  and  their  influ- 
ence as  fully  allowed. 

When  man  has  the  keenness  to  look  into 
the  heart  of  his  fellow  man,  and  to  read  what 
therein  is  concealed,  then  will  he  be  able  to 
estimate  what  is  feeling,  and  what  also  is 
formality ;  or  what  in  prayer  is  tone,  and 
what  is  language;  and  how  far  these  agen- 
cies represent  the  actual  condition  of  the 
soul.  And  until  that  hour  comes,  such  opin- 
ions as  he  may  have  formed,  based  on  the 
conjectural  condition  of  one's  inner  heart,  are 
to  be  held  in  abeyance.  And  if  the  Bible 
is  to  be  credited,  as  it  is,  that  hour  will 
never  come — for  this  is  God's  prerogative ; 
as  we  read  :  "  for  the  Lord  seeth  not  as  man 
seeth ;    for   man    looketh    on    the    outward 


THE  PR  A  YER  TEST.  I35 

appearance,  but  the  Lord  looketh  upon  the 
heart." 

But,  finally — 

IV.  The  test  is  ioijiracticable ;  and  for  the 
simplest  of  many  reasons  which  so  easily 
might  be  adduced, — that  no  man,  or  number 
of  men,  though  sincere  in  their  motive,  could 
get  any  community  to  enter  upon  any  such 
service,  holy  as  it  is,  under  the  conditions  as- 
sociated with  it. 

As  we  cannot  be  too  familiar  with  this 
proposal,  let  me  once  more  repeat  a  few  of 
its  most  prominent  features;  and  without 
re-quoting  the  author's  language,  let  me  put 
it  in  the  form  in  which,  had  the  Christian 
public  accepted  it,  it  would  no  doubt  have 
been  presented  to  them.  And  had  it  been 
carried  to  a  successful  issue,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  language  which  its  in  author  or 
authors  would  have  chosen  to  have  announced 
it,  I  do  not  know;  but  if  thej^  had  given  full 
expression  to  their  aim,  in  obedience  to  its 
tenor,  it  would  have  read,  perhaps,  something 
as  follows : 

To  THE  Christian  Public  : 
Deak  Friends  : 
Convinced  as  are  we,  the  undersigned,  that  the  Chris- 
tian public,  especially,  will  be  interested  in  all  that  per- 
tains to  the  happiness  of  then*  fellow-men,  and  above  all 
9 


186  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

others,  that  they  will  be  inclined  to  do  what  others  would  re- 
fuse, and  the"  more  so  since  what  is  now  about  to  be 
asked  of  them,  is  not  only  in  immediate  harmony  with 
their  profession,  but  their  joy  and  comfort ;  andbeheving, 
also,  that  they  are  ever  ready  to  lend  theh  aid  in  testing 
the  value  of  any  remedy,  which  may  contemplate  the  al- 
leviation of  the  sick  and  suffering,  and  their  restoration 
to  health  ;  and  as  it  is  a  principle,  in  the  profession  which 
we  represent,  never  to  deviate  from  an  accustomed  path, 
till  that  in  which  we  would  enter  is  shown  to  be 
preferable  to  the  one  in  which  we  have  been  walking  ; 
and  knowing  that  the  special  agent  to  which  your  atten- 
tion is  about  to  be  called,  is  one  which  you  frequently 
use  ;  it  is  the  purport  of  these  lines  to  say,  that  yester- 
day morning,  in  your  own  city  hospital,  from  the  ward 
known  as  the  fever  ward,  there  were  selected  ten  pa- 
tients, in  all  respects,  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained, 
similarly  affected,  who  were  removed  to  another  ward 
in  the  same  building  ; — the  same  in  air,  lights  and  heat, 
as  that  from  which  they  were  taken.  It  is  beheved,  that 
these  same  ten  sufferers  are  no  more  moral,  nor  are  they 
any  the  less  vicious,  than  their  comrades,  who  still  oc- 
cupy the  old  ward ;  still"  the  division  has  been  made 
among  them,  in  order  that  special  prayer  might  be  of- 
fered in  their  behalf.  Not  indeed,  that  we  cannot  pray, 
nor  yet  these  same  afflicted  ones  ;  but  we  covet,  if  pos- 
sible, a  new  remedy  ;  and  not  knowing  but  what  prayer 
might  be  a  healing  agent,  and  aiming  to  utilize  any  and 
every  instrumentality  that  may  tend  to  mitigate  distress, 
and  diminish  the  death  rate  in  the  world,  we  proj)ose  to 
have  its  virtue  in  this  relation  thoroughly  tested;  so 
that  if  it  be  a  physical  curative,  it  might  be  ranked  where 
it  belongs,  and  such  place  given  it  in  materia  medica  as 
it  may  justly  merit.  And  to  make  this  same  test  authori- 


THE  PRAYER    TEST.  187 

tative,  in  order  that  its  conclusions  may  be  beyond  all 
possibility  of  error,  it  is  proposed  that  your  prayers  be 
offered  in  their  behalf,  for  three  or  five  j^ears.  It  is  to 
be  distinctly  remembered,  you  are  to  i)ray  that  the  se- 
lected ten,  and  only  these,  may  be  restored. 

Eespectfully  yours,  in  the  name  of  the  physicians  and 
nurses  in  charge,  Luke. 


Suppose  sucli  a  bulletin,  printed  in  golden 
letters,  were  to  arrest  your  eye  as  you  passed 
the  door  of  a  certain  hospital;  or  such  a  re- 
quest were  to  greet  you  as  you  opened 
the  morrow's  pajDer  ;  and  you  a  Christian  man 
or  woman,  what  would  be  its  most  natural 
effect  u]3on  you  ?  Yes,  you  might  at  once 
respond,  prayer  is  a  weapon  with  the  Chris- 
tian, and  his  most  potent  weapon ;  and  as  in 
days  past  its  achievements  have  been  great,  . 
its  early  conquests  are  but  mere  preludes  to 
victories  far  more  complete  and  extended.  ' 
And  in  these  latter  days  of  indifference,  and 
irreligion,  and  skepticism,  it  is  refreshing  to 
see  it  acknowledged  as  a  force  in  the  world, 
and  that  the  believer  in  Christian  truth  pos- 
sesses an  agent  whose  influences  are  coveted ; 
and  that  there  is  so  much  virtue  in  it,  as  to 
incline  some  to  utilize  it  in  behalf  of  the 
sick :  blessed  be  God,  His  relations  to  the 
race  are  becoming  more  and  more  distinctly 


188  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

acknowledged  —  but  would  this  be  all  ? 
Would  any  humble  believer  here  rest  ?  Nay, 
as  the  eye  scanned,  and  it  may  be  re-scanned, 
these  same  golden  letters,  which  call  as  the 
sweet  voice  of  the  muezzin  in  the  East  to 
prayer,  and  as  we  realize  that  our  jDetitions 
are  solicited  for  ten,  and  only  for  ten  of  its 
inmates,  to  the  exclusion  of  others  who  may 
be  pining  in  the  other  wards,  would  we  then 
and  there,  or  the  Christian  public  pray  only 
for  these  same  chosen  few  ?  Is  it  so,  at  the 
announcement  of  such  a  request,  prayer 
w^ould  be  wafted  heavenward  for  those,  and 
only  for  those  for  whom  it  had  been  specially 
solicited  ?  Is  this  the  feeling  which  would 
throb  a  Christian's  heart  ?  Is  this  the  genius 
or  the  animus  of  his  faith  \  Has  he  so 
learned  Christ  \  Rather,  from  the  fact  that  in 
another  chamber  there  w^ere  many  others 
suffering,  possessed  of  the  same  feelings  and 
of  the  same  susceptibilities,  afflicted  with  the 
same  diseases,  having  similar  burnings,  sim- 
ilar pains,  similar  thirsts,  similar  anxieties, 
and  bound  for  the  same  judgment,  and  ulti- 
mately to  appear  before  the  same  God,  and 
inheritors  of  the  same  immortality  —  since 
prayer  had  not  been  requested  for  these, 
would  this  not  be  the  reason  why  appeals,  fer- 


THE  PRAYER    TEST.  189 

vent  and  earnest,  frequent  and  continuous, 
would  be  sent  heavenward  in  their  behalf  ? 
Are  some  to  be  humbled,  that  others  may  be 
exalted  ?  Is  this  the  spirit  which  has  given 
Christianity  its  power,  and  made  the  name 
Christian  a  name  of  such  honor  in  the  world  ? 
Would  the  Christian  public  acquiesce  in  a 
demand,  which  contem]3lated  the  making  of  a 
certain  number  outcasts  in  the  world,  for 
whom  no  heart  should  feel,  no  arm  be  raised, 
nor  voice  be  heard  ?  Amid  all  the  possible 
achievements  of  which  Christians,  as  such, 
may  be  guilty,  is  there  room  for  such  a  230ssi- 
bility  ? 

On  the  other  hand, — would  not  the  con- 
sciousness, that  some  were  not  prayed  for, 
elicit  such  a  sympathy,  and  a  response  from 
the  entire  believing  world,  as  would  give 
those  for  whom  intercession  had  not  been  asked, 
so  to  say,  far  more  and  deeper  prayer  than 
those  for  whom  it  had  been  sought  ?  But 
admit  there  is  room  for  the  supposed  possi- 
bility; concede  that  intercessory  prayer  is 
offered  by  the  Christian  community  in  behalf 
of  the  few  to  the  exclusion  of  the  many ; 
what  reason  have  we  to  believe  that  the  neg- 
lected will  not  pray  for  themselves  ?  and 
should  they,  how  can  such  a  test  as  is  pro- 


190  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

posed  be  final,  when  the  very  element  which 
the  supposition  requires  to  be  excluded,  is  in 
reality  in  operation,  and  accomplishing  its 
benevolent  mission  ?  And  it  is  this  truth, 
together  with  the  fact,  that  any  knowledge 
on  the  part  of  the  Christian  public,  that 
some  certain  few  were  being  prayed  for, 
would  lead  them  to  unite  in  intercession  for 
those  who  were  not  remembered — thus  giving 
to  those  for  whom  prayer  had  not  been 
sought,  the  service  asked  in  behalf  of  others, 
— which  renders,  as  we  have  intimated,  the 
proposed  test  wholly  impracticable. 

And  it  might  here  be  added,  admitting 
that  it  be  practicable,  that  were  it  tried,  and 
God  to  decline  to  answer  such  prayer  as  a 
company  of  believers  might  offer  in  behalf  of 
the  sick,  since  He  is  a  Personal  God,  and 
therefore  is  influenced  in  all  His  acts  by 
motives;  His  motive  for  doing,  as  He  may 
do,  may  never  be  known.  That  God  is  ever 
laboring  for  the  highest  happiness  of  His 
entire  universe,  is,  we  believe,  the  concession 
of  all  who  are  acquainted  with  His  character, 
and  the  relations  which  He  sustains  to  His 

j    creatures.  If,  therefore.  He  ever  decline  to  an- 
swer special  prayer,  it  must  be  for  some  wise 

/  purpose.     Now,  suppose  that  these  few,  for 


THE   PRAYER    TEST.  191 

whom  special  intercessions  Lad  been  asked, 
were  "  without  liope  and  without  God  in  the 
world ;"  and  suppose,  likewise,  God,  in  order 
to  teach  some  men  more  plainly,  than  He 
may  as  yet  have  done,  the  folly  of  postpon- 
ing their  peace  with  Him,  till  worn  and 
wearied  with  disease,  in  the  midst  of  a  terrific 
storm,  should  send  a  flash  of  lightning  and 
smite  the  building  in  which  they  lie,  result- 
ing in  their  death,  would  such  a  visitation  be 
any  evidence  that  God  does  not  hear  prayer 
in  behalf  of  the  sick?  On  the  contrary: 
since  wisdom  marks  all  His  pathways,  may 
not  the  death  of  all  the  special  patients  be 
more  to  His  glory,  and  for  the  highest  happi- 
ness of  the  universe,  than  their  recovery  ? 
If  prayer  clash  with  God's  purposes,  what 
then  ?  Is  it  to  be  surrendered,  or  is  the  test 
to  be  given  up  ?  The  adoption  of  the  pro- 
posed test,  therefore,  so  far  as  God's  faithful- 
ness is  concerned,  would  test  nothing,  nor 
would  it  reveal  anything.  For  so  long  as 
God  acts,  and  acts  wisely,  as  He  must,  and  is 
guided  by  the  highest  motive.  He  may  set 
aside  the  prayers  of  a  community  for  pur- 
poses, far  more  holy  than  the  healing  of  a  cer- 
tain few  burning  with  fever.  Is  a  father's 
declinature  to  give  his  son  what  he  may  have 


192  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

asked,  any  evidence  of  his  inability  to  meet 
the  demands  of  his  boy,  or  that  he  has  not 
in  store  for  him  greater  favors  than  v/hat  he 
may  have  sought  ?  Or  should  he  give  him 
what  he  has  requested,  because  he  requested, 
is  he  not  the  victim  of  constraint  and  demand, 
and  under  the  control  of  his  child  \  And  do 
such  viev^s  of  paternity  accord  with  our  no- 
tions, of  what  is  true  and  what  is  false  ?  The 
test,  therefore,  is  likewise  morally  defective ; 
for  its  tone  is  not,  "  if  it  be  Thy  will " ;  but 
the  converse, — "Let  my  will,  not  Thine, 
be  done."  And  if  it  be  not  as  desired,  it  will 
be  because  prayer  has  no  power  in  the  realm 
in  which  its  influence  has  been  invoked ;  or 
should  it  be  as  wished,  it  is  because  God, 
through  my  prayer,  has  been  constrained  to 
answer.  What,  then,  becomes  of  the  moral 
character  of  God  ? 

Finally,  that  the  test  does  not  suggest, 
also,  insincerity  and  duplicity,  who  can 
well  question,  that  will  remember, — while 
the  restoration  of  the  sick  is  a  most  noble 
aim,  and  the  demonstration  likewise  that 
prayer  is  a  curative  agent,  and  may  be 
susce23tible  of  quantitive  analysis  —  that 
the  real  motive  is  to  measure  the  influence 
of  man  with  God.     How  can  it  escape  this 


THE  PR  A  YER    TEST.  I93 

accusation  ?  And  when  tliis  same  gauge  is 
stripped  of  all  its  relations  and  consequents, 
that  this  is  not  its  intent,  the  testing  of 
human  power  under  the  guise  of  prayer,  how 
evident,  when  we  recall  the  fact, — that  belief 
in  the  efficacy  of  petition  is  held  in  abeyance, 
until  its  power,  in  the  realm  sought,  is  estab- 
lished. 


9* 


LECTURE   V. 

PRAYER    AND     MIRACLES. DOES     GOD     ANSWER 

PRAYER  ? 


PEAYER     AND     MIRACLES. — DOES     GOD     ANSWER 
PRAYER  ? 

This  inquiry  has  very  often  been  proposed 
in  our  investigations,  and  no  definite  reply 
has  been  given  ;  let  it  then  be  our  aim  in  this 
closing  lecture  to  respond  to  it ;  and  with  the 
same  degree  of  directness  in  which  it  has  been 
presented,  and  which  its  practical  significance 
demands.  But,  before  we  speak  in  posi- 
tive language,  in  reference  to  this  question,  it 
may  be  wxll  for  us  to  consider : — 

First.  If  God,  both  in  nature  and  character, 
be  such  as  we  have  endeavored  in  previous 
pages  to  prove  that  He  is;  i.  ^.,  neither  a 
myth,  nor  a  mere  force,  nor  a  principle,  nor 
yet  a  name  for  the  moral  order  of  the  uni- 
verse ; — but  a  Person,  and  as  distinct  in  His 
personality  as  man  is  distinct  in  his  per- 
sonality;— we  have  great  reason  for  affirm- 
ing, that  He  can  hear  and  answer  prayer. 
For  nothing  is  more  evident,  than  that  man, 
who  is  also  a  person,  can  hear  and  answer  re- 
quests which  may  be  made  to  him.  This  is  an 


198  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

occurrence  daily  witnessed.  It  is  observed 
among  all  classes — among  the  poor,  as  well  as 
the  rich ;  the  debased  and  ignorant,  as  well  as 
the  cultivated  and  learned.  And  if  God  is  a 
like  personality,  but  of  unlimited  perfection.  He 
certainly  can  do  what  the  creature  is  able  to  do. 
^'  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  He  not  hear ; 
or  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  not  He  see  ?  " 
Or,  as  the  Saviour  utters  the  same  truth :  "  If 
a  son  shall  ask  bread  of  any  of  you  that  is 
a  father,  will  he  give  him  a  stone?  or  if  he 
ask  a  fish,  will  he  for  a  fish  give  him  a  ser- 
pent ?  or  if  he  shall  ask  an  ^gg^  will  he  offer 
him  a  scorpion  ?  If  ye  then  being  evil,  know 
how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him." 
Second.  Nor  can  we  invest  God  with 
greater  glory,  than  by  believing  that  He  can 
hear  and  answer  the  prayers  of  His  children. 
Whatever  may  be  the  numerous  purposes  for 
which  God  exists,  is  as  far  from  our  power 
to  know,  as  it  is  to  measure  the  space,  which 
separates  the  infinite  from  the  finite.  But 
among  these  same  purposes,  that  it  is  not  rea- 
sonable to  say,  the  well-being  of  His  creatures 
is  the  most  important  part,  who  can  disprove  ? 
God,  as  we  often  say,  is  the  sum  of  every 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  199 

conceivable  perfection  ;  by  wliich  language  it 
is  our  aim  to  exclude  from  Him  all  such  con- 
ceptions as  suggest  indifference,  selfishness, 
malevolence,  and  insensibility.  Certain  it  is 
that  He  exists,  and  He  exists  for  something; 
what  is  that  something  ?  Is  it  for  His  own 
glory  ?  While  having  a  right  thus  to  do, 
does  such  a  view  of  Him  harmonize  with  our 
notions  of  a  perfect  Being  ?  Is  it  to  admin- 
ister the  laws  which  He  has  established  for 
the  government  of  the  universe  ?  It  may  be 
so.  But  if  there  be  a  realm  higher  than  the 
mere  material,  and  as  much  above  it  as  the 
incorruptible  is  above  the  corru23tible,  and 
He  is  honored  for  the  regularity  and  beauty  of 
His  government  in  this  former  kingdom  ;  with 
how  much  greater  glory  would  He  be  invested, 
were  we  to  believe,that  in  this  latter  realm  His 
influence  and  sway  were  fully  as  great,  as  in 
"the  realm  of  mere  matter : — and  the  more  so, 
if  in  this  spiritual  kingdom,  though  con- 
fronted with  the  power  of  other  wills,  they 
were  under  His  control ;  and  that  He  could 
meet  the  demands  of  a  nature  primarily  as 
His  own,  as  well  as  all  the  requirements  of 
the  physical  universe  \  Mind,  in  its  nature, 
is  far  more  noble  than  mere  matter.  And 
since  the  spiritual  outranks  the  mere  material, 


200  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

may  we  not  say,  by  however  mucli  He  may 
exist  for  the  latter,  so  much  the  more  does 
He  exist  for  the  former;  and  to  a  degree 
measured  by  the  inherent  difference  between 
them? 

Third.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  God  is  a 
person,  and  greater  glory  will  accrue  to  Him, 
by  answering  than  by  denying  the  prayers  of 
His  children.  His  nature  is  of  such  a  character 
as  to  demand  that  prayer  should  be  an- 
swered. 

There  is  no  single  attribute,  perhaps,  which 
has  been  bestowed  upon  God  more  universally 
and  A^'illingly,  than  that  He  is  a  God  of  kind- 
ness. It  is  this  virtue,  which  has  especially 
endeared  Him,  to  every  member  of  the  human 
family.  His  benevolence  is  not  measurable 
and  narrow,  but  immeasurable;  nor  is  it  in- 
constant and  irregular,  still  less  is  it  susceptible 
of  any  adulteration.  In  its  exercise,  He 
recognizes  neither  age,  rank,  sex,  color,  nor 
condition.  So  also  in  His  symj^athy.  As  it 
exists  for  all.  He  has  likewise  feeling  and  relief 
for  all ;  nor  are  any  willing  to  acknowledge, 
that  they  are  beyond  the  reach  of  His  sympathy. 
It  is  this  fact,  which  leads  the  soul  to  tell  Him, 
what  it  refuses  to  breathe  in  any  human  ear, 
and  why  many  so  often  seek  His  presence. 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  201 

The  same  is  true  of  His  love ;   it  is  bound- 
less and  eternal. 

"  Could  we  with  ink  the  ocean  fill, 

Were  the  whole  world  of  parchment  made, 
Were  every  single  stick  a  quill, 

Were  every  man  a  scribe  by  trade  ; 
To  write  the  love  of  God  alone, 

Would  drain  the  ocean  dry  ; 
Nor  would  the  scroll  contain  the  whole, 

Though  stretched  from  sky  to  sky." 

His  affection  for  the  race  is  beyond  all  lan- 
guage fully  to  describe.  And  if  this  be  a 
truthful  view  of  God,  have  we  not  a  right  to 
feel,  that  He  will  regard  petitions  which  may 
be  agreeable  to  His  will  % 

Poor,  erring  humanity,  though  possessing 
these  same  virtues  in  a  limited  degree,  de- 
lights in  their  exhibition.  And  shall  we 
ascribe  to  the  creature,  what  we  would  with- 
hold from  the  Creator  ?  Is  it  true,  that  only 
man  can  relieve;  that  he,  and  only  he,  can 
bless?  Shall  we  say,  that  in  those  gifts  which 
we  love  to  designate  as  godlike,  man  has 
greater  capabilities,  and  is  more  willing  to 
exercise  them,  than  has,  and  does  his  Maker? 

Fourth,  Since  prayer  is  an  element  in  the 
constitution  of  man,  unless  we  believe  that  God 
answers  it,  we  have  the  existence  of  a  desire 
without  a  provision  for  its  gratification ;  and 


202  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

we  have  yet  to  learn  that  incompleteness  is 
discoverable  in  any  part  of  God's  creation. 
The  material  world  is  a  world  of  the  most 
wondrous  balancings ;  and  the  same  is  true  of 
the  animal  world.  Fitness — adaptedness — is 
the  rule  everywhere,  and  not  the  exception. 
If  an  animal  has  been  made  susceptible  of 
thirst,  in  some  beautiful  vale,  or  near  some 
moss-covered  rock,  Grod  has  opened  a  fountain 
where  its  desire  can  be  gratified.  Where 
carnivorous  food  is  necessary  for  the  susten- 
tation  of  life,  there  we  find  not  only  the  food 
provided,  but  contrivances  for  its  mastication. 
Nature,  neither  animate  nor  inanimate,  is  the 
same  as  that  which  girdles  the  equator.  And 
so  in  that  realm,  in  which  man  is  the  chief 
agent  and  actor.  God  has  not  given  to  him 
certain  cravings,  and  yet  made  no  provision 
for  their  gratification.  If  it  were  so,  then 
man  is  the  only  imperfection  in  His  entire 
creation.  And  since  prayer  is  a  divine  im- 
plantation, as  much  so  as  any  mere  physical 
appetite,  there  must  likewise  be  provision  for 
its  gratification.  It  will  not  be  maintained, 
that  while,  in  the  purely  material  realm,  na- 
ture is  always  just  in  her  compensations, 
there  is  no  relief,  for  similar  needs,  in  the 
world  of  thought  and  feeling;  or  that  Infinite 


PRAYER  AND   MIRACLES.  203 

Wisdom  has  deceived  man,  by  enduing  him 
with  an  element  which  is  valueless,  save  as  it 
gives  birth  to  sighs  and  longings,  which  are 
never  to  be  relieved  or  gratified.  Rather  as 
prayer  is  an  instinct,  and  therefore  appertains 
to  our  nature.  He  who  produced  the  disposi- 
tion, and  gave  the  power  to  pray,  would  also 
provide  an  answer.  And  the  more  so,  since 
God  was  not  constrained  to  endow  man  with 
this  instinct ;  but  having  so  done,  the  possi- 
bility of  gratification  is  necessitated. 

Fifth.     Should  God  answer  prayer,  in  no 
sense,  could  it  be  derogatory  to  His  character. 

We  shall  not  attempt  here  any  description 
of  God,  as  to  His  nature  or  character,  either 
as  manifested  in  His  word  or  works.  It  is 
only  necessary  for  us  to  remember,  that  He  is 
a  Spirit ;  and  the  sum  of  every  conceivable 
perfection  ;  and  that  were  we  called  upon  to 
define  Him,  and  to  use  familiar  language,  it 
would  be  by  ascribing  to  Him  all  the  perfec- 
tion of  our  own  being  and  nature,  extended 
to  an  unlimited  degree.  And  it  is  because 
God  diiFers  so  largely  from  man,  in  every  con- 
ceivable excellency,  that  we  love  to  call  Him 
by  that  name,  which  our  lips  were  so  early 
taught  to  lisp — God.  The  spirit  of  God  and 
the  spirit  of  man,  considered  as  sj)irit,  since 


204  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

man  is  His  image,  in  poj)ular  language,  are 
the  same ;  save  that  the  one  is  infinite — the 
other,  finite.  But  of  all  those  holy  attributes 
with  which  we  invest  God,  and  whose  union 
make  Him  what  He  is,  were  He  to  answer 
prayer,  which  would  be  impugned  ?  Certain- 
ly it  is  not  His  immutability  ;  for  He,  who 
is  infinitely  perfect  and  independent  in  His 
being,  is  not  capable  of  change.  Nor  does 
prayer  or  its  answer  contemplate  any  muta- 
tion in  His  purposes.  Is  it  His  omniscience  ? 
But  prayer  does  not  seek  to  inform  God,  nor 
does  any  one  approach  Him  feeling,  that  He 
is  ignorant  of  His  condition.  God  knows  all 
things  from  eternity.  All  things  are  "  naked 
and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom 
we  have  to  do."  Is  it  His  benevolence  ?  But 
whatever  be  the  prayer  of  the  suppliant,  and 
whatever  the  ignorance  which  it  may  exhibit, 
as  it  is  the  glory  of  God  which  he  is  seeking ; 
he  would  not  have  God  entertain  his  petition, 
were  it  not  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  high- 
est happiness  of  the  universe.  Indeed,  we 
pray — all  men  pray,  hoping  thereby,  by  their 
prayers,  to  accomplish  a  far  greater  good  than 
though  they  did  not  pray.  In  fact,  it  is  God's 
benevolence  which  not  only  prompts,  but  also 
which  encourages  the  burdened  heart  to  seek 


PRAYER  AND   MIRACLES.  205 

the  throne,  and  to  lay  before  Him  its  many 
wants.  Is  it  His  holiness?  and  is  there  any- 
thing humiliating,  in  a  holy  being  hearing  the 
cries  of  a  broken  and  crushed  spirit  \  Though 
God  hate  sin,  and  have  no  fellowship  with 
evil,  He  does  not  therefore  necessarily  with- 
draw from  those,  who  would  be  cleansed  from 
their  impurity,  and  become  like  Himself. 
For  He  is  not  as  is  man,  capable  of  contamina- 
tion ;  nor  is  He  impoverished  by  giving.  His 
own  unsought  command  is,  "  Be  ye  holy,  as  I 
am  holy."  Indeed,  it  is  just  here  we  dis- 
cover such  a  difference  in  the  character  of  God, 
from  that  which  is  exhibited  in  the  character 
and  action  of  man.  Men,  when  conscious  of 
any  so-called  perfection,  and  prize  it,  withdraw 
from  the  companionship  of  those  who  are  not 
equally  as  perfect.  Men  also  are  discrim- 
inative and  partial ;  favoritism  more  fre- 
quently influencing  them,  than  true  merit  and 
goodness ;  men  covet  also  the  applause  of  the 
honored  and  the  great,  nor  are  any  more  wel- 
come to  their  presence,  than  they  who  occupy 
the  high  places  of  earth,  and  whose  names 
may  be  embroidered  with  titles ;  men  like- 
wise have  an  ear  for  the  influential,  and  a 
hand  open  for  flatterers ;  and  aid  and  con- 
gratulations for  him,  whom  they  hope  some 


206  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

day  will  reward  or  serve  them.  It  is  not  so 
with  God.  His  greatness  has  not  its  origin 
in  any  loft}^  ambition,  nor  does  it  contem- 
plate the  exhibition  of  any  personal  glory; 
on  the  other  hand,  His  constant  desire  is  the 
welfare  and  the  happiness  of  all,  of  every 
name  and  condition.  He  hears  the  cry  of  a 
child,  as  surely  as  the  more  polished  periods 
of  a  man  ;  and  He  has  an  ear  for  thehnmble, 
as  w^ell  as  for  the  exalted.  Nor  does  He  re- 
gard the  outward  appearance ;  as  it  is  want, 
towards  which  His  face  is  constantly  turned. 
Surely,  if  it  does  not  militate  against  the 
character  of  an  earthly  potentate,  to  listen  to 
the  petitions  of  his  subject,  though  the  hum- 
blest in  his  realm,  can  it  be  any  the  less  true 
of  the  mighty  potentate — the  King  of  kings, 
and  the  Lord  of  lords  \  When  her  Majesty, 
the  Queen  of  Great  Britan,  so  recently  sought 
through  prayer  the  restoration  of  her  son, 
did  her  act  in  any  way  compromise  her  char- 
acter or  position  ? 

Sixth.  Nor  is  it  to  be  forgotten,  that  God 
has  commanded  us  to  i^ray ;  and  He  has  also 
promised  to  answer  prayer.  Now  what  are 
His  commands,  and  what  likewise  are  the 
numerous  23romises  which  He  has  connected 
with  acceptable  petition,  do  not  so  much  con- 


PRAYER  AND   MIRACLES:  20Y 

cern  us,  as  to  remember  that  God  would 
enjoin  no  duty  upon  His  creatures,  unless 
He  had  connected  with  it  certain  condi- 
tions, which  would  be  surely  granted  when 
the  duty  is  performed.  Since  He  does 
not  need  the  praises  of  any  to  add  to  His  ex- 
cellency, the  requirement  to  pray  cannot  have 
reference  so  much  to  His  honor  and  happi- 
ness, as  to  the  welfare  of  the  petitioner. 
God's  commands  must  contemplate  other 
ends  than  mere  obedience  to  them.  Indeed, 
knowing  that  man,  through  sin,  voluntarily 
cut  himself  off  from  communion  with  Him, 
still  desiring  his  good,  He  would  have  him 
return,  and  in  the  prescribed  way  obtain  the 
favors  he  needs.  Hence  that  sublime  declara- 
tion, which,  in  one  sense,  may  be  regarded  as 
the  embodiment  of  all  His  commands,  in  this 
important  relation,  "  Ask  and  ye  shall  re- 
ceive ;  seek  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock  and  it 
shall  be  oj^ened." 

Concerning  His  promises  connected  with 
prayer,  the  only  question  here  involved  is, 
whether  God  is  a  God  of  veracity.  For  an- 
swer this  inquiry  affirmatively,  since  He  has 
thus  promised,  He  must  answer  it.  That 
a  God,  meriting  our  highest  love  and  wor- 
ship, can  be  otherwise  than  truthful,  is  too 


208  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

puerile  a  proposition  to  detain  ns.  "  His  word 
abideth  for  ever."  "  God  is  not  man  tliat  He 
should  lie,  neither  the  son  of  man  that  He 
should  repent ;  hath  He  said,  and  shall  not 
He  do  it?  or  hath  He  spoken,  and  shall 
He  not  make  it  good  V 

Finally.  God  has  made  abundant  provision, 
for  the  presentation  and  acceptance  of  prayer. 
Says  St.  John :  "If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous."  And  St.  Paul :  ''  But  this  man, 
because  he  continueth  ever,  hath  an  unchange- 
able priesthood.  Wherefore  he  is  able  also 
to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto 
God  by  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them."  And  again,  "  Who  is 
he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died; 
yea,  rather,  that  has  risen  again ;  who  is  ever 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh 
intercession  for  us."  It  is  thus  that  revela- 
tion speaks,  where  reason  must  be  silent. 
And  that  God  would  have  made  provision 
for  the  presentation  and  acceptance  of  prayer, 
without  purposing  to  reward  such  as  should 
comj)ly  with  the  prescribed  mode  of  approach 
to  Him,  is  as  unnatural,  as  it  would  be  to  ar- 
range for  the  salvation  of  men,  and  then  with- 
hold it  from  them. 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  209 

Seeing,  then,  so  far  as  we  know,  that  there 
is  nothing,  either  in  the  nature  or  character 
of  God,  which  would  interfere  with  His 
answering  the  prayers  of  His  creatures ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  God  has  commanded  men 
to  pray,  and  made  also  fall  provision  for  its 
success,  whensoever  and  by  whomsoever  it 
may  be  offered — let  us  now  leave  the  field  of 
presumption,  and  enter  that  in  which  we  can 
be  as  positive  in  our  statements,  as  is  our 
confidence  in  the  revelation,  from  whose 
pages  we  purpose  to  quote. 

In  replying,  therefore,  directly  to  this  far- 
reaching  inquiry,  we  would  say,  at  once,  God 
does  answer  prayer — a  fact  attested  by  the 
Bible,  as  well  as  by  the  great  and  good  of  every 
nation  and  of  every  age,  so  far  as  their  opin- 
ions on  this  important  question  have  been  ex- 
pressed. We  have  here  no  controversy  with 
those  who  regard  the  Scriptures  as  a  mere 
compend  of  pre-historical  myths,  or  as  a 
compilation  of  stories  gotten  up  centuries 
ago,  to  minister  to  the  cravings  of  minds  fond 
of  the  marvellous  and  imaginative ;  nor  yet 
with  those  who  look  upon  its  contents  as  an 
embodiment  of  the  teachings  of  the  early 
philosophers  and  moralists ;  still  less  with  a 
later  few  who  regard  its  sublimest  inspirations 
10 


210  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

as  being  what  we  vsometimes  call  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  poet,  of  the  painter,  of  the  sculp- 
tor, or  of  the  musician.  Nor  have  we  any 
dispute  with  such  as  may  question  its  genuine- 
ness and  authenticity;  for  we  believe  the 
Bible  to  be  the  Word  of  God — His  absolute 
word,  given  unto  us  through  those  whom, 
in  His  infinite  wisdom,  He  was  pleased  to 
select  as  the  immediate  disclosers  of  His  will ; 
and  that  it  was  penned  by  those  to  whom, 
for  so  many  ages,  it  has  been  attributed;  and 
for  the  following  general  reasons : 

Man  needed  a  revelation;  and  what  is 
called  the  Bible  most  fully  and  completely 
meets  this  want ;  and  there  are  throughout 
associated  with  it,  just  such  evidences  as  reason 
naturally  demands  should  be  possessed  by 
a  volume  claiming  heaven  as  its  origin,  and  the 
present  and  future  happiness  of  the  ]'ace  as 
its  single  end  and  purport.  While  some 
may  be  inclined  to  cavil  at  the  ground  of  our 
acceptance  of  it,  it  might  be  well  here  to  ob- 
serve, that  it  is  not  within  the  power  of  human 
genius,  nor  of  human  learning,  to  prove  that 
the  Bible  is  not  what  it  claims  to  be — or  that 
there  is  more  evidence  why  it  should  be 
rejected,  than  that  it  should  be  received  and 
consequently  believed.    Nor  can  it  be  denied, 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  211 

if  tlieBiMe  is  not  of  God,  that  its  existence  is  a 
miracle  iniiuitely  far  more  astounding  tlian 
any  fact,  or  series  of  facts,  wliicli  its  pages 
anywhere  record. 

Accepting,  therefore,  the  Bible  as  the  in- 
fallible Word  of  God,  what,  then,  are  its 
testimonies  on  the  question  now  immediately 
before  us  ?  In  making  this  appeal,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  if  the  Bible  is  what  we  claim  it 
to  be,  no  multiplicity  of  its  statements  can  add 
to  its  truthfulness.  Still,  let  us  not  confine  our- 
selves to  one  of  its  numerous  examples — rather 
we  shall  refer  to  several ;  and  chiefly  that 
we  may  admire  the  plainness  and  directness 
of  the  record,  as  well  as  note  its  wondrous 
fullness  and  variety. 

In  following  the  generally  received  order 
of  its  canon,  we  read,  that  the  servant  of 
Abraham  prayed :  "  0  Lord  God  of  my  mas- 
ter Abraham,  I  pray  thee,  send  me  good 
speed  this  day,  and  shew  kindness  unto  my 
master  Abraham.  Behold  I  stand  here  by  the 
well  of  water ;  and  the  daughters  of  the  men  of 
the  city  come  out  to  draw  water;  and  let  it  come 
to  pass,  that  the  damsel  to  whom  I  shall  say. 
Let  down  thy  pitcher,  I  pray  thee,  that  I  may 
drink ;  and  she  shall  say.  Drink ;  and  I  will 
give  thy  camels  drink  also :  let  the  same  be 


212  '    VEDDER  LECTURES. 

she  that  tlion  hast  appointed  for  thy  servant 
Isaac;  and  thereby  shall  I  know  that  thou 
hast  shewed  kindness  unto  my  master."  And 
now,  continuing  the  narrative  :  "And  it  came 
to  pass,  that  before  he  had  done  speaking, 
behold,  Rebekah  came  out,  who  was  born  to 
Bethuel,  son  of  Milcah,  the  wife  of  Nahor, 
Abraham's  brother,  with  her  pitcher  upon  her 
shoulder.  .  .  .  And  Rebekah  arose,  and  her 
damsels,  and  they  rode  ujDon  the  camels,  and 
followed  the  man ;  and  the  servant  took 
Rebekah,  and  went  his  way.  .  .  .  And  Isaac 
brought  her  into  his  mother  Sarah's  tent,  and 
took  Rebekah,  and  she  became  his  wife." 

And  Jacob  prayed :  "  O  God  of  my  father 
Abraham,  and  God  of  my  father  Isaac,  the 
Lord  which  saidst  unto  me.  Return  unto  thy 
country,  and  to  thy  kindred,  and  I  will  deal 
well  with  thee :  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least 
of  all  the  mercies,  and  of  all  the  truth,  which 
thou  hast  shewed  unto  thy  servant :  for  with 
my  staff  I  passed  over  this  Jordan  ;  and  now 
I  am  become  two  bands.  Deliver  me,  I  pray 
thee,  from  the  hand  of  my  brother,  from  the 
hand  of  Esau ;  for  I  fear  him,  lest  he  will 
come  and  smite  me,  and  the  mother  with  the 
children.  And  thou  saidst,  I  will  surely  do 
thee  good,  and  make  thy  seed  as  the  sands  of 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  213 

the  sea,  which  cannot  be  numbered  for  multi- 
tude." And  it  is  added :  ^'Jacob  lifted 
up  his  eyes,  and  looked ;  and  behold,  Esau 
came,  and  with  him  four  hundred  men. 
And  he  divided  the  children  unto  Leah,  and 
unto  Rachel,  and  unto  the  two  handmaids. 
And  he  put  the  handmaids  and  their  children 
foremost,  and  Leah  and  her  children  after, 
and  Rachel  and  Joseph  hindermost.  And  he 
passed  over  before  them,  and  bowed  himself 
to  the  ground  seven  times,  until  he  came  near 
to  his  brother.  And  Esau  ran  to  meet  him, 
and  embraced  him,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and 
kissed  him  :  and  they  wejDt."  

Moses  prayed :  '^  Behold,  when  1  come  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  shall  say  unto  them, 
The  God  of  your  fathers  hath  sent  me  unto 
you;  and  they  shall  say  to  me.  What  is 
his  name  ?  What  shall  I  say  unto  them  ?  " 
And  it  is  written:  "And  God  said  unto 
Moses,  I  AM  THAT  I  AM  :  and  he  said  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  I  AM  hath  sent 
me  unto  you." 

Joshua  prayed :  "  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon 
Gibeon  ;  and  thou  Moon,  in  the  valley  of  Aja- 
lon."  And  it  is  written  that  "  the  sun  stood 
still,  and' the  moon  stayed,  until  the  people  had 
avenged  themselves  upon  their  enemies." 


214  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Hanuali  prayed :  "  O  Lord  of  hosts,  if  thou 
wilt  indeed  look  on  the  affliction  of  thy  hand- 
maid, and  remember  me,  and  not  forget  thine 
handmaid,  but  wilt  give  unto  thine  handmaid 
a  man  child,  then  I  will  give  him  unto  the 
Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life,  and  there  shall 
no  razor  come  upon  his  head."  And  it  is 
added :  "  Wherefore  it  came  to  pass,  when 
the  time  was  come  about  after  Hannah  had 
conceived,  that  she  bare  a  son,  and  called  his 
name  Samuel,  saying.  Because  I  have  asked 
him  of  the  Lord." 

But  without  repeating  the  language  of 
other  prayers,  and  their  recorded  answers,  let 
me  say,  Saul  prayed  for  thunder  and  for 
rain,  and  the  same  day  the  Lord  sent  thun- 
der and  rain.  David  prayed  that  the  counsel 
of  Ahithophel  might  be  turned  into  foolish- 
ness ;  and  Ahithophel,  seeing  that  his  counsel 
was  not  followed,  went  out  and  hanged  him- 
self. Elijah  prayed  that  the  son  of  the 
widow  might  be  restored ;  and  the  soul  of  the 
child  came  into  him  again,  and  he  revived  ; 
and  that  it  might  not  rain  these  years  according 
to  my  word ;  and  it  rained  not  on  the  earth 
by  the  space  of  three  years  and  six  months. 
And  he  prayed  again,  and  the  heavens  gave 
rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her  fruit. 


\J  PRAYER  AND   MIRACLES.  215 

And  Elislia  prayed  that  tlie  eyes  of  his 
servant  might  be  opened;  and  the  Lord 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  young  man,  and  he 
saw.  And  Hezekiah  prayed  that  his  life 
might  be  prolonged ;  and  in  obedience  to  the 
prayer  of  Isaiah,  the  sun-dial  is  turned  back, 
and  his  life  is  prolonged. 

Jabez  prayed  that  his  coast  might  be  en- 
larged, and  that  God  might  be  ever  with 
him ;  and  God  granted  him  what  he  request- 
ed. And  Nehemiah  prayed  for  the  captive 
remnai5t  of  Judah;  and  his  prayer  was  an- 
swered. Job,  with  a  body  wasted  by  disease, 
and  with  sorrow  deep  and  heavy  in  his  heart, 
prayed  for  answers  to  his  numerous  petitions ; 
and  the  Lord  answered  his  cries.  The  Psalmist 
prays  again  and  again ;  and  fully  as  oft  as  were 
his  supplications,  so  complete  also  were  God's 
answers  to  them.  Isaiah  prays,  and  the  camp 
of  the  Assyrians  is  smitten  to  the  amount  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  souls. 
Jeremiah  confesses  the  great  sin  of  Israel,  and 
pleads  that  they  may  be  delivered  from  the 
consequences  of  their  transgression ;  and  the 
Lord  hears  and  regards  his  petitions.  Ezekiel 
continues  in  further  intercessions  for  Israel, 
and  his  supplications  prevail.  Daniel  be- 
sought the  Lord  for  an  interpretation  of  the 


216  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Mug's  dream,  and  it  is  recorded,  "  Then  was 
the  secret  revealed  unto  Daniel  in  a  night 
vision."  And  so  likewise  the  prophets  Joel, 
and  Jonah,  and  Micah,  and  Habakknk,  and 
Zechariah  prayed;  and  as  were  the  felt  ne- 
cessities of  these  seers,  so  did  each  receive 
from  the  Lord  answers,  fully  in  consonance 
with  their  requests. 

j^or  are  these  the  only  Scripture  testimonies 
to  the  power  and  success  of  prayer.  Passing 
to  the  newer  dispensation,  in  the  later  reve- 
lation of  God's  will,  we  read :  A  certam  leper 
prayed  that  he  might  be  cleansed  from  his 
leprosy ;  and  he  was  cleansed  of  his  leprosy, 
and  immediately.  A  Roman  centarion  pleaded 
that  his  servant  might  be  healed ;  and  he  was 
healed : — the  disciples  prayed  that  the  storm 
might  cease ;  and  the  storm  did  cease : — one 
Jairus  prayed  for  the  recovery  of  his  daugh- 
ter; and  she  did  recover: — two  blind  men 
sought  their  sight ;  and  it  was  given  to  them  : 
— Peter  prayed  that  he  and  his  companions 
might  not  be  swalloAved  up  by  the  waves ; 
and  they  were  not  swallowed  by  the  waves : — 
a  woman  of  Syrophoenicia  plead  that  a  devil 
might  be  cast  out  of  her  daughter;  and  it 
was  cast  out : — a  certain  nobleman,  whose  son 
was  sick  at  Capernaum,  prayed   for  the  re- 


PRAYER  AND   MIRACLES.  21Y 

CO  very  of  Lis  boy ;  and  he  did  recover  : — the 
apostles  entreated  that  wisdom  be  given  them 
in  the  choice  of  a  brother ;  and  it  was  given 
to  them  : — the  Church  prayed ;  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  poured  out  upon  them : — and  it  in- 
terceded for  Peter  in  prison ;  and  "  the  chains 
fell  off  from  his  hands : " — at  midnight,  Paul 
and  Silas  prayed,  and  "  suddenly  there  was  a 
great  earthquake,  so  that  the  foundations  of 
the  prison  were  shaken ;  and  immediately  all 
the  doors  were  opened,  and  every  one's  bands 
were  loosed."  Such  is  the  Scripture  record, 
and  its  testimony  to  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 
And  these  references  are  merely  a  tithe  of 
its  revelations. 

Nor  are  the  confessions  of  the  good  and 
great  of  every  age,  of  every  nationality,  and 
of  every  degree  of  culture  and  attainment, 
any  the  less  plain,  direct  and  positive.  What 
these  numerous  testimonies  are,  we  need  not 
repeat ;  for  we  believe,  were  it  possible  to  sub- 
mit to  the  entire  race  the  question,  whether 
God  answers  prayer,  there  would  be  no  inquiry 
to  which  the  race,  as  a  race,  would  bear  a 
more  cordial  witness.  No  moral  phenomenon 
has  been  more  universally  attested.  It  is  the 
great  pyramidal  truth  of  the  world,  than 
which  none  is  more  broad,  none  more  certain- 
10* 


218  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

ly  established,  none  whicli  Las  been  more 
thoroughly  experienced,  nor  has  there  been  one 
more  successfully  demonstrated.  Indeed, 
prayer  has  been  resorted  to  with  the  same  con- 
fidence, with  which  men  resort  to  forces  purely 
mechanical,  for  the  attainment  of  material  ends. 
Martyrs  have  verified  it  in  their  hours  of  ex- 
treme torture.  Fathers  have  verified  it  in  their 
seasons  of  trial  and  calamity.  Mothers  have 
verified  it  in  comforting  them  for  unrequited 
love,  and  in  filial  devotion  and  conduct. 
Children  have  verified  it  in  behalf  of  un- 
believing parents.  Friends  have  verified  it 
in  their  affection  for  their  associates.  Widows 
and  orj)hans  have  verified  it  in  their  bereave- 
ments, and  thesailor  in  the  storm,  the  soldier  on 
the  battle-field,  the  traveler  in  his  perils,  and 
the  prisoner  in  his  captivity.  When  all  other 
modes  of  relief  have  failed,  myriads  have 
verified  it  in  their  diverse  and  perplexing  ex- 
periences ;  and  at  this  very  hour,  it  is  receiv- 
ing new  and  countless  verifications.  When 
the  Man  of  Nazareth  thus  spoke,  "Ask, 
and  it  shall  be > given  you;  seek,  and  ye 
shall  find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you :  for  every  one  that  asketh,  receiveth ; 
and  he  that  seeketh,  findeth ;  and  to  him  that 
knocketh,  it  shall  be  opened,"  did  He  speak 
truthfully  or  otherwise? 


PRA  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  219 

ThougL.  difficulties,  therefore,  may  be  con- 
nected with  prayer,  and  it  may  be  embarrass- 
ing to  explain  some  of  its  phenomena — in 
view  of  the  facts  just  given,  and  particularly 
since  some  of  them  are  the  attestations  of 
consciousness — to  deny  the  efficacy  of  prayer, 
is  as  unwise  and  unphilosophical  as  it  would 
be  for  one  born  blind,  to  dispute  the  existence 
of  light ;  or  for  one  deaf  from  birth,  to  deny  the 
beauties  of  musicaLliarmony.  For  here  is 
not  problematical,  but  experimental  evidence ; 
and,  therefore,  it  is  jDOsitive ;  and  as  positive 
as  it  is  possible  for  any  evidence  to  be ;  and 
such  as  the  mind,  if  in  a  healthy  condition, 
can  accept  and  rest  upon  as  quietly,  as  when 
230ssessing  any  fact,  whether  the  fruit  of  dis- 
covery or  of  demonstration.  Allowing  that 
some  potent  objections  can  be  brought  against 
the  efficacy  of  prayer,  still  these  objections 
do  not  affect  the  proof,  on  which  rests  the 
fact,  that  God  does  hear  and  answer  it.  For 
as  there  is  more  than  one  quarry,  from  which 
materials  can  be  secured  for  the  building  of  a 
house,  against  which  wind  and  storm  may 
beat  in  vain ;  and  sandstone,  though  soft,  is 
as  truly  stone  as  is  granite ;  and  out  of  either 
an  edifice  can  be  constructed,  strong  and  dura- 
ble :  so  of  evidence — it  is  of  many  types  and 
from  many  sources ;  and  that  which  is  born  in 


220  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

consciousness  is  none  the  less  valid,  tlian  what 
may  come  to  us  through  the  channels  of  his- 
tory, or  be  the  fruit  of  demonstration.  And 
the  inner  witness  of  mankind  is,  God  does 
answer  prayer.  Nor  can  this  testimony, 
and  the  truth  known  in  the  realm  to  which 
it  appertains,  be  set  aside,  any  more  than  other 
historical  evidence  can  be  disregarded,  and 
the  truth  known  in  the  realm  where  its  mode 
of  proof  avails.  The  testimony  of  conscious- 
ness is  as  logical,  and  as  reliable,  in  its  sphere, 
as  may  be  and  are  other  proofs  in  their 
sphere.  Though  a  thousand  unbelievers, 
therefore,  say  that  God  is  not  the  answerer 
of  prayer,  if  there  is  one,  who  from  con- 
sciousness can  contravene  this  assertion,  the  lat- 
ter is  to  be  believed ;  and  for  the  reason  that  no 
number  of  mere  negations  can  destroy  a  single 
fact  attested  by  consciousness.  Suppose  a  tribe 
of  unlettered  savages  were  to  deny  that  there  is 
any  reference  in  the  Bible  to  a  plan  of  salvation, 
weighty  and  conclusive  as  some  may  regard 
this  evidence,  it  avails  nothing,  however,  with 
him  who  can  read  its  pages.  For  the  latter 
knows  it  does  speak  of  salvation ;  and  on 
this  single  fact,  his  evidence  far  outweighs 
the  testimony  of  all  to  whom  its  letters  are 
less  intelligible,  than  tracks  upon  the  sand. 


.     PJ^A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  221 

True,  the  source  of  his  conviction  may  be 
unknown  to  those  who  would  dispute  with 
him ;  but  though  unknown,  is  it  any  the  less 
real,  worthy,  and  reliable  ?  As  we  h  ave 
intimated,  it  is  the  testimony  of  those  who 
pray,  that  God  answers  Prayer ;  and  this  is  the 
solution  also  of  their  continuing  to  pray. 
But  is  it  said,  the  testimony  of  conscious- 
ness is  unreliable,  aod  all  who  accept  it  are 
the  victims  of  a  fraud  and  superstition  ? 
The  answer  is,  man  is  not  a  lie  unto  himself. 

But  to  return  to  those  responses,  which  in- 
spiration has  recorded  as  answers  to  j)rayer. 
As  we  have  seen,  here  are  prayers  hav- 
ing the  most  diverse  ends.  Rain  is  prayed 
for,  and  it  is  given ;  life  is  asked  to  be  pro- 
longed, and  it  is  prolonged  ;  the  sick  request 
restoration,  and  they  are  restored ;  deliver- 
ance is  sought,  and  it  is  granted ;  kingdoms 
are  enlarged,  the  wicked  are  punished,  the 
blind  see,  the  dead  rise.  These  and  other 
wonders  are  all  set  down  as  direct  answers 
to  the  petitions  for  these  same  mercies ;  and 
we  are  perplexed  to  know  which  most  to  ad- 
mire, whether  the  boldness  and  the  faith  of 
the  suppliants,  or  the  promptness  and  the 
absolute  fullness  of  their  answers. 

Here  let  it   be   distinctly  observed,   that 


222  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

these  Bil)lical  evidences  are  God's  witnesses 
to  the  efficacy  of  prayer ;  they  are  His  testi- 
monies. And  they  are  facts  ;  and  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  the  disbeliever  admits 
them ;  else  where  the  material  for  disj^ute  ? 
Nor  is  the  inability  of  any  one  to  under- 
stand how  people  can  thus  pray,  or  why 
God  has  thus  done,  to  be  any  measure  of 
the  fact,  but  what  they  have  thus  prayed, 
and  God  has  thus  done.  As  in  days  past 
much  was  regarded  as  false,  because  it  was 
considered  unnatural  and  unscientific,  which 
time  has  since  clearly  demonstrated  was  not 
only  truthful,  but  i^erfectly  scientific;  so  com- 
ing years  also  may  be  able  to  establish,  to 
the  satisfaction  of  every  one,  who  now  may 
reject  these  prayers  and  their  replies,  their 
harmony  with  the  laws  of  mind  ;  as  well  as 
with  those  laws,  likewise,  which  rule  and 
reign  in  the  physical  universe. 

Difficulties  are  not  contradictions.  Nor 
should  the  present  teachings  of  reason,  or  of 
science,  be  regarded  as  final,  particularly 
when  they  seem  to  conflict  with  the  "Word  of 
God.  Dogmatism  may  be  admissible  in  the 
realm  of  the  limitable ;  not,  however,  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  absolute  and  illimitable. 

The  question,  however,  which  at  this  point 


PRA  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  223 

meets  us,  is  tliis :  In  view  of  tlie  fact,  that 
the  Bible  unmistakably  and  unequivocally 
declares  that  God  does  answer  prayer,  are 
these,  its  assertions,  to  be  believed  ;  or  are  we 
to  cast  them  aside  as  unworthy  our  confi- 
dence %  Certainly  this  latter  course  we  cannot 
adopt,  as  we  have  assumed  and  declared  our 
belief  in  the  Bible.  We  are  then  reduced  to 
this — the  doctrine  of  those  who  disbelieve  in 
God  answering  prayer,  by  whomsoever  held, 
must  be  untrue.  And  if  science  teaches  that 
God  cannot  answer  prayer,  then  science  must 
be  false.  But  is  science  false  ?  If  not  false, 
then  our  theology  must  be  false.  And  the 
answer  is,  science,  true  science,  is  not  false. 
And  true  science  and  true  theology,  since 
they  are  each  a  systematic  arrangement  of 
facts,  all  of  which  have  their  origin  in  the 
same  mind,  never  can  be  in  antagonism. 
Harmony  is  not  the  least  of  God's  attributes. 
How,  then,  are  all  such  phenomena,  like 
those  of  which  the  Scriptures  speak,  to  be 
harmonized  with  science  \  Or  as  this  inquiry 
may  be  more  com23rehensively  put ;  What, 
then,  is  the  relation  which  may  be  said  to 
exist  between  Prayer  and  Miracle  \  For  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  answers  to  prayer, 
to  which  the  Bible  so  frequently  bears  wit- 


7 


224  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

ness,  are  of  a  cLaracter  wliicli  belong  rather 
to  the  miraculous  or  the  extraordinary,  than 
to  the  natural  and  the  common.  And  in 
these  days,  were  supplications  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  God,  for  favors  equally  as  stu- 
.pendous  and  exceptional,  as  those  which 
have  been  referred  to,  have  we  any  reason  to 
believe  that  He  would  answer  our  petitions, 
and  in  a  way  corresponding  to  what  the  Scrip- 
tures declare  Him  to  have  done  in  days  past  ? 

It  does  not  embrace  the  ends  which  these 
lectures  have  in  view,  to  enter  into  any  dis- 
cussion of  the  general  question  of  miracles, 
their  nature,  their  origin,  the  causes  for  which 
they  were  wrought,  or  of  their  numerous 
relations  either  to  God  or  man.  Rather  shall 
we  allude  to  them,  as  far,  and  only  as  far,  as 
they  are  connected  with  the  subject  immedi- 
ately before  us. 

And,  therefore,  we  at  once  observe,  that 
when  we  read  of  answers  rendered  to  prayer 
as  immediate  and  extraordinary  as  those  to 
which  the  Scriptures  witness  (admitting  their 
truthfulness),  a  solution  to  such  phenomena  is 
not  found  in  saying,  that  these  were  palpable 
violations  of  the  laws  of  nature  ;  for,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  true  notion  of  prayer  involves  the 
violation  of  no  law,  nor  does  an  answer  con- 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  225 

template  any  disruj^tion  of  the  order  or  har- 
mony of  the  universe.  But  since  prayer  is 
a  force,  as  much  so  as  is  any  force,  mental  or 
physical,  with  which  we  are  familiar ;  as,  at 
the  beginning,  full  provision  was  made  for 
the  exercise  of  other  forces,  as  gravitation,  or 
any  natural  energy  ;  so  at  the  hour  in  which  it 
was  determined  prayer  should  be  a  force,  there 
was  made  full  |)rovision  also  for  its  exercise. 
It,  as  a  cause,  has  its  effect  or  consequent,  as 
has  everything  else.  And  just  as  God  knew 
what  would  be  the  aim  of  prayer,  and  what  it 
would  accomplish,  and  its  end,  and  so  far  as 
He  knew  also  that  its  exercise  and  results 
would  be  in  accordance  with  His  will,  so  far 
did  He  provide  for  its  operation.  We  do 
not  thus  speak,  nor  would  we  have  it  under- 
stood, that  this  is  any  demonstration  of  the  fact, 
that  such  answers  as  we  find  the  Scriptures 
ascribing  to  jDrayer  were  given  as  answers  to 
it ;  for  it  is  doubtful,  if  any  such  connection 
between  prayer  and  its  answer,  as  the  word 
miracle  suggests,  can  be  demonstrated  to  the 
satisfaction  of  any  one  who  rejects  revelation. 
But  this  is  a  hypothetical  solution  of  these 
phenomena ;  and  a  hypothetical  explanation, 
in  that  realm  where  our  knowledge  is  limit- 
ed, if  it  neutralize  every  adverse  presumption, 


226  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

is  at  least  tantamount  to  a  proof,  that  no 
valid  or  conclusive  objection  can  be  urged 
against  it.  And  any  solution  which  might 
satisfactorily  account  for  phenomena,  were 
our  knowledge  more  extended  and  precise, 
while  not  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  is  cer- 
tainly more  than  presumption  in  its  favor. 
Nay,  when  nothing  can  be  urged  against  it, 
though  not  positive,  it  partakes  of  the  charac- 
ter of  direct  evidence.  In  truth,  whenever 
there  is  produced,  in  favor  of  any  proposi- 
tion, the  highest  kind  of  evidence  of  which 
it  admits,  and  in  a  sufficient  degree  to  out- 
weigh all  that  can  be  brought  against  it,  that 
proposition  may  properly  be  said  to  be 
proved. 

But  to  understand  more  clearly  the  solution 
of  the  phenomena  which  the  Bible  contains, 
as  far  as  we  may  be  able,  let  us  go  back,  in 
imagination,  to  the  very  beginning  of  things, 
and  contemplate  God,  as  He  may  be  said  to 
have  appeared  in  relation  to  this  world,  an- 
terior to  His  creation  of  it. 

We  behold  Him  existing  and  active ;  for 
He  is  ever  active.  But  the  hour  (relatively) 
has  now  come,  in  which  He  purposes  to  fash- 
ion our  globe,  and  to  invest  it  with  such  va- 
ried creations  as  shall  subserve  His  own  high- 


r-^ 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  227 

est  and  distinctly  chosen  plans.  Nature,  in- 
animate and  animate,  is  called  into  being. 
And  now  existing,  as  God  is  a  God  of  order 
and  not  of  confusion,  He  impresses  upon  every- 
tliing  which  He  has  formed  such  law^s,  as  may 
be  necessary  to  guide  and  control  it  to  a  special 
and  peculiar  realm.  Does  He  create  a  tree — 
He  makes  soil  also  in  which  it  may  grow. 
Does  He  form  a  fish — waters  are  provided  in 
which  it  may  swim.  Does  He  fashion  an 
animal — food  is  also  furnished  upon  which 
it  may  live.  And  so  of  the  other  objects  of 
His  creating  power.  Does  He  invest  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  His  creation  with  mind ;  not 
only  is  there  room  provided  for  mental  en- 
ergy, but  material  is  also  prepared  upon 
which  it  may  feed.  Does  He  endow  man 
with  affections,  appetites,  proclivities ;  all 
things  are  so  adjusted  as  to  minister  to  their 
gratification.  Is  the  world  to  be  the  arena 
of  great  achievements ;  means  are  provided 
for  their  accomplishment.  Indeed,  every  con- 
ceivable experience  to  which  He  knew  the 
world  in  its  history  would  be  subjected,  has 
been  provided  for ;  nothing,  however  insig- 
nificant, has  been  forgotten. 

When    God   thus  formed  the  world,   and 
so  arranged   every  event  that  it  must  come 


228  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

to  23ass,  and  while  He  made  provision  for 
the  exercise  of  every  physical  law,  as  the 
movements  of  the  tides  and  planets,  and  the 
laws  of  heat,  and  cold,  and  gravitation,  and 
the  like  ;  and  provided  also  for  the  operation 
and  supply  of  those  laws  which  govern  man  in 
his  lesser  needs ;  that  He  did  not  also  have  in 
mind  the  dispositions,  and  desires,  or  prayers 
of  every  intelligent  being;  and  that  then 
everything  was  arranged  so  as  to  harmonize 
with  all  his  experiences,  numerous  and  varied 
as  they  may  be,  who  so  bold  as  to  disprove  ? 
Who,  we  say,  can  disprove  that  when  God 
arranged  the  events,  of  which  this  world  was 
to  be  the  theatre,  these  same  events,  what- 
ever they  might  be,  would  not  be  also  in  per- 
fect unison  with  the  desires  or  the  aspirations 
of  His  sentient  creatures  ? 

Full  provision  certainly  was  made  for  the 
exercise  of  every  purely  physical  law.  Nor 
was  God  in  the  least  forgetful,  of  the  actions 
of  the  numerous  other  forces,  which  form  part 
of  His  universe.  And  is  it  not  fully  as  rea- 
sonable, that  He  should  have  made  provision 
for  the  play  also  of  any  and  every  force,  weak 
or  powerful,  direct  or  indirect,  and  upon 
whatever  kingdom  it  may  bear  ?  May  it  not 
fairly  be  supposed,  that  the  spiritual  and  the 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  229 

material  throughout  the  universe  were  origi- 
nally so  blended  together,  and  have  such  re- 
lations to  each  other,  as  in  their  successive 
developments  to  be  in  perfect  harmony? 
Nay,  is  it  at  all  impossible  or  improbable 
that  such  a  series  of  causes  and  effects,  then 
and  there,  may  not  have  been  designed,  which, 
while  securing  general  provision  for  the  seve- 
ral species  of  existence  or  being,  might  not 
also  have  been  made  for  particular  cases,  and 
yet,  nature  not  be  disturbed,  or  the  universe 
subjected  to  even  the  faintest  jar  ?  True,  to 
man  this  is  a  mysterious  and  bewildering 
thought.  For,  as  we  know,  in  his  ignorance 
and  feebleness,  he  cannot  anticipate  the  needs 
of  a  single  day,  nor  provide  for  them,  still 
less  have  a  care  for  the  necessities  of  the  race, 
and  for  all  time.  But  is  it  so  with  God  ? 
Can  it  be  thus  with  the  Cause  of  causes  % 
Indeed,  when  we  remember  what  God  is  in 
His  nature.  His  character,  and  His  being ; 
that  He  is  omnipotent,  and,  therefore,  can  do 
what  we  cannot  conceive  to  be  possible ; — that 
He  is  omniscient,  and,  consequently,  is  per- 
fectly familiar  with  every  part  of  creation, 
even  to  its  minutest  detail ;  that  no  sparrow 
falleth  to  the  ground  without  His  notice ;  that 
He  knows  not  merely  the  stars  by  name,  but 


230  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

numbers  the  very  hairs  of  our  head  ;  and  that 
He  is  omnipresent,  and,  therefore,  is  neither  in- 
different to,  nor  absent  from,  His  works  ;  but 
at  all  times  is  at  hand  to  execute  what  He 
may  determine  ;  and  that  He  is  the  sole  cause 
of  everything,  and  a  God  of  unity : — no  other 
than  just  such  an  adjustment  of  things  as  would 
thus  meet  any  and  every  force  which  might  be 
emj)loyed  in  the  universe,  is  in  consonance 
with  His  character.  From  a  Being  so  wise, 
so  good,  so  great,  so  powerful,  it  is  this  per- 
fect provision  for  everything  which  we  should 
expect.  He  who  created  the  light,  created 
the  eye  ;  and  He  who  created  the  eye,  created 
the  light ;  else  their  adaptedness  is  inconceiv- 
able. He  who  made  the  lungs,  made  also 
the  air ;  the  one  is  fitted  for  the  other,  as  they 
both  are  necessary  to  existence.  And  we  do 
not  hesitate  to  say  God  made  the  light,  and 
the  eye,  and  man,  and  the  air  upon  which  he 
lives ;  and  if  we  find  Him  making  such  pro- 
vision for  our  physical  nature,  shall  we  not 
believe  that  in  some  way,  also,  He  has  made 
adjustments  in  the  universe  by  which  the 
deepest  feelings  of  the  soul  can  be  met  %  Cer- 
tainly man's  agency  in  his  direct  relation  to 
physical  phenomena,  in  the  beginning,  was 
provided  for,  as  we  daily  witness  its  exercise ; 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  231 

and  yet  there  is  no  apparent  disturbance  of 
law ;  as,  after  its  action,  all  things  are  as  calm 
and  regular,  as  though  this  potent  force  had 
not  }3een  exerted.  Man,  likewise,  is  God's 
instrument  for  the  accomplishment  of  His 
purposes.  If  God,  therefore,  thus  assigns  to 
the  outward  actions  of  His  creatures  a  special 
place  in  carrying  out  His  purposes  in  the 
world,  is  it  conceivable  that  this  same  Being 
has  made  no  provision  for  the  spiritual  effects 
of  the  same  creation  ?  or  that  the  cravings  of 
a  redeemed  spirit,  the  travailing  of  a  soul 
bent  as  much  as  God  himself  on  the  accom- 
plishment of  His  divine  will  and  glory,  shall 
be  less  efficacious  or  less  provided  for,  than 
the  outward  and  ordinary  agency  of  human 
jiCtion  ? 

Recall,  for  a  moment,  what  prayer  is.  It  is 
the  loftiest  feeling  of  which  man  is  capable — 
the  desire  of  man  craving  perfect  harmony 
with  the  holiest  will ;  it  is  the  soul  giving 
expression  to  its  purest  and  grandest  instincts. 
I  therefore  ask,  can  we  believe,  that  while  God 
has  so  arranged  the  universe,  as  to  provide 
for  the  exercise  of  all  the  other  forces  in  the 
world,  and  while  each  has  its  special  comple- 
ment, there  has  been  no  similar  provision  for( 
that  force  which,  in  nature,  is  as  far  above 


232  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

the  purely  j^hysical  as  tlie  immortal  exceeds 
the  mortal,  and  which,  whensoever  brought 
into  play,  would  move  in  the  plane  in  which 
God  himself  moves  ?  Responses  to  efforts 
which  are  intensely  mental,  and  efforts  which 
are  intensely  physical,  and  provision  made 
for  their  complete  gratification,  yet  no  such 
thing  as  provision  for  our  moral  activities  ! 
and  no  responses  for  the  soul  in  its  sublimest 
flight  !  That  the  spirit  which  bears  the  im- 
press of  God  himself,  and  which,  when  in  its 
fullest  exercise,  would  be  in  accord  with  the 
highest  will,  should  be  incapable  of  awaken- 
ing an  echo  !     Can  this  be  \ 

But  so  far  as  human  contrivance  may  be 
employed  to  exemplify  God's  pre-adjustment 
of  all  things  at  the  beginning,  and  in  that  ad- 
justment, provision  made  for  Just  such  phe- 
nomena as  the  Scriptures  have  given  us,  as 
answer  to  prayer,  let  me  here  illustrate.  For 
this  purpose,  I  refer  to  that  curious  ma- 
chine, which  bears  the  name  of  its  inventor, 
Mr.  Charles  Babbage,  constructed  some  years 
ago  for  arithmetical  purposes.  Without  at- 
tempting any  description  of  it,  in  his  own 
language,  I  would  say,  "  Let  the  reader  imagine 
that  he  sits  down  before  this  engine  and  ob- 
serves a  wheel,  which  moves  through  a  small 


rRA  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  233 

angle  round  its  axis,  at  short  intervals,  pre- 
senting to  his  eye  successively,  a  series  of 
numbers  engraved  on  its  divided  circumfer- 
ence. Let  the  figures  thus  seen  be  the  series 
of  natural  numbers,  1,  2,  3,  4,  etc.,  each  of 
which  exceeds  its  immediate  antecedent  by 
unity.  Now,  let  me  ask  how  long  you  will 
have  counted  before  you  are  firmly  convinced 
that  the  engine,  supposing  its  adjustments  to 
remain  unaltered,  will  continue  whilst  its 
motion  is  maintained,  to  produce  the  same 
series  of  natural  numbers?  Some  minds, 
perhaps,  are  so  constituted,  that  after  pass- 
ing the  first  hundred  terms,  they  will  be  sat- 
isfied that  they  are  acquainted  with  the  law. 
After  seeing  ^yq  hundred  terms,  few  will 
doubt;  axl  after  the  fifty  thousandth  term, 
the  propensity  to  believe  that  the  succeeding 
term  will  be  fifty  thousand  and  one,  will 
be  almost  irresistible.  That  term  loiTl  be 
fifty  thousand  and  one:  the  same  regular 
succession  will  continue;  the  ^nq,  millionth 
and  the  fifty  millionth  term  will  still  appear 
in  their  expected  order,  and  one  unbroken 
chain  of  natural  numbers  will  pass  before 
your  eyes,  from  one  %ip  to  one  hundred  million. 
True  to  the  vast  induction  whicb  has  thus 
been  made,  the  next  succeeding  term  will  be 
11 


234  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

one  hundred  million  and  one ;  but  after  that, 
the  next  number  presented  by  the  rim  of  the 
wheel,  instead  of  being  one  hundred  million 
and  two,  is  one  hundred  million  ten  tJwusand 
and  two.  The  law  which  seemed  at  first  to 
govern  this  series,  fails  at  the  hundred  million 
and  second  term.  That  term  is  larger  than 
we  expected  by  10,000.  The  next  term  is 
larger  than  we  anticipated  by  30,000,  and  the 
excess  of  each  term  above  what  we  had  ex- 
pected, forms  the  series  of  triangular  numbers, 
1,  3,  6,  10,  etc.,  each  multiplied  by  10,000. 
If  we  still  continue  to  observe  the  numbers 
presented  by  the  wheel,  we  shall  find  that 
for  a  hundred  or  even  for  a  thousand  terms, 
they  continue  to  follow  the  new  law  relating 
to  the  triangular  numbers ;  but  after  watch- 
ing them  for  2761  terms,  we  find  that  this 
law  fails  in  the  case  of  the  2762d  term.  If 
we  continue  to  observe,  we  shall  discover  an- 
other law  coming  into  action,  which  also  is 
dependent,  but  in  a  diiFerent  manner,  on  tri- 
angular numbers.  This  will  continue  through 
about  1430  terms,  when  a  new  law  is  again 
introduced,  which  extends  over  about  950 
terms ;  and  this,  too,  like  all  its  predecessors, 
fails,  and  gives  place  to  other  laws,  which 
appear  at  different  intervals." 


PRA  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  235 

^'  Now,  it  must  be  remarked,  tliat  each  iiiim- 
her  presented  hy  the  engine  is  greater  hy  unity 
than  the  preceding  number^  which  law  the  ob- 
server has  deduced  from  an  induction  of  a 
hundred  million  instances^  was  not  the  true 
law  that  regulated  its  action ;  and  that  the 
occurrence  of  the  number  100,010,002,  at  the 
100,000,002nd  term,  was  as  necessary  a  conse- 
quence of  the  original  adjustment,  and  might 
have  been  as  fully  foreknown  at  the  com- 
mencement, as  was  the  regular  succession  of 
any  one  of  the  intermediate  numbers  to  its 
immediate  antecedent.  The  same  remark  ap- 
plies to  the  next  apparent  deviation  from 
the  new  law,  which  was  founded  on  an  induc- 
tion of  2761  terms,  and  to  all  the  succeeding 
laws :  with  this  limitation  only — that  whilst 
their  consecutive  introduction  at  various  defi- 
nite intervals  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
the  mechanical  structure  of  the  engine,  our 
knowledge  of  analysis  does  not  yet  enable  us 
to  predict  the  periods  at  which  the  more  dis- 
tant laws  will  be  introduced." 

Such  are  the  disclosures  of  this  extraordi- 
nary machine.  Now,  far  be  it  for  me  to  say, 
that  the  greatest  creations  which  may  ema- 
nate fi^om  any  human  being,  however  culti- 
vated, in  any  way  match  either  the  skill,  de- 


236  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

sign,  or  purpose  which  God  has  displayed  in 
the  creation  of  our  world,  or  in  the  universe, 
of  which  our  globe  is  such  an  insignificant 
part ;  as  divine  and  human  handiwork  are 
incomparable.  Nor  arc  we  unwilling  to  ac- 
^\  knowledge,  that  it  was  by  no  foresight  of  the 
inventor,  after  a  certain  number  of  revolu- 
tions of  his  ingenious  mechanism,  a  break  in 
the  chain  of  sequence  occurred ;  or  that  there 
was  a  conscious  provision  made  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  other  results,  than  had  been  con- 
temj^lated.  Nor  would  we  disbelieve,  that 
these  same  ap|)arent  violations  may  not, 
after  a  protracted  observation,  be  reduced  to 
law ;  for  they  can  be ;  and  to  a  law,  as  regu- 
lar in  its  operation  as  any  other  law. 

But  foregoing  these  imperfections,  and  ad- 
mitting, that  in  many  resjDects,  it  affords  no 
adequate  illustration  of  the  thought,  and 
contrivance,  and  purpose  which  God  has 
shown  in  His  material  creation,  still,  since  it 
was  so  constructed  as  to  cause  different  series 
of  numbers  to  be  presented  one  after  another, 
without  the  alteration  or  re-adjustment  of 
any  of  its  parts, — in  like  manner,  may  not 
that  larger  and  more  complex  machine,  which 
we  call  our  world,  nay,  the  universe  itself,  have 
been  so  set  up  originally,  as  to  have  provided 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  237 

for  just  such  results  as  the  Scriptures  assert  as 
the  consequence  of  prayer ;  and  which  could 
have  been  given,  and  no  more  disturbance 
experienced  in  the  world,  than  was  exhibited 
in  the  machine,  when  it  recorded  the  peculiar 
phenomena  to  which  we  have  referred?  In 
other  language,  in  that  which  seems  to  be 
regular,  is  there  not  provision  for  the  irregu- 
lar ?  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  this  extraor- 
dinary contrivance  included  both  successions 
of  figure,  and  both  were  included  in  the  origi- 
nal la\^^,  which,  by  its  wondrous  combination, 
Avas  impressed  upon  it.  And  may  it  not  have 
been  in  some  such  manner  with  this  globe, 
when  at  the  beginning  it  was  set  up  \ 
'  ^  Or,  to  introduce  a  more  familiar  illustra- 
tion :  There  is  in  operation  on  some  of  the 
railroads  in  our  country,  a  brake,  which  is 
known  as  the  "Air  brake."  How  this  ap- 
\        pliance  is  constructed,  or  how  it  is  adjusted 

— V  to  the  car — as  these  inquiries  belong  to  the 
department  of  mechanical  philosophy,  we  here 
have  nothing  to  say ;  but  its  purpose  is  sud- 
denly to  arrest  motion.     And  the   peculiar 

^^  feature  of  the  invention  is,  that  the  power 
which  checks  the  car,  is  not  a  j)ower  from 
without,  but  is  provided  in  the  running 
of   the   train.      It   is   part   of   the    working 


VEDDER  LECTURES. 

of  the  engine,  and  exists  by  virtue  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  engine;  and  the  inventor  had 
this,  the  source  of  its  power,  in  his  raind  in 
the  beginning.  May  not  God,  in  some  such 
manner,  in  creating^  this  world,  have  made 
some  similar  provision  for  such  necessary  con- 
tingencies ?  Heat  is  exjDansive ;  should  we 
therefore  take  water  at  32°  Fah.,  and  subject 
it  to  the  action  of  heat,  in  obedience  to  its 
law,  we  should  expect  it  to  expand.  But 
does  it  expand?  If  we  raise  its  temper- 
ature one  degree,  it  does  not  expand  ;  even  if 
we  increase  it  two,  three,  four,  ^yq^  or 
six  degrees,  it  still  contracts;  and  this  con- 
traction goes  on  till  we  pass  the  mark  of  39'', 
when  the  phenomenon  becoming  reversed,  it 
resumes  its  previous  power  or  law  of  expan- 
sion. There  is  here  no  irregularity ;  it  is  the 
law  of  heat;  it  is  law  working  through 
law;  and  in  the  beginning,  surely  this  de- 
viation was  fully  as  much  provided  for,  as 
the  previous  and  subsequent  regularity  of  its 
action. 

Indeed,  if  the  Creator,  while  making  pro- 
vision for  the  operation  of  other  forces  in 
the  universe,  has  not  so  arranged  it  as  to 
meet  such  desires  of  His  creatures,  as  may  be 
in  harmony  with  His  will, — since  He  foreknew 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  239 

the  circumstances, — it  must  have  been  either 
because  He  could  not,  or  would  not.  And  if 
He  could  and  would  not,  remembering  the 
frequency  with  which  the  heart,  the  real  man, 
turns  heavenward  for  that  relief  which  it 
alone  can  give,  and  how  heaven's  responses 
gladden  the  soul,— fhow  can  God's  failure  thus 
to  do,  be  reconciled  with  His  love  for  the  wel- 
fare of  that  soul?^  Let  it  not  be  said,  heav- 
en's eye  is  ever  upon  the  good  of  the  majori- 
ty; or  that  God  knows  not  the  interest  of 
one,  when  the  many  are  imperiled  ;  for  while 
such  a  principle  might  rule  and  gain  ap- 
plause among  men,  in  the  realm  of  the  Infi- 
nite it  has  no  place ;  and  what  is  impossible 
with  men  is  possible  with  God.  Besides,  the 
supposition  does  not  involve  God's  giving  that 
to  one,  which  might  militate  against  the  wel- 
fare of  the  many ;  but  when  a  favor  can  be 
bestowed,  and  no  one  injured,  how  can  God's 
neglect  to  grant  such  a  return,  be  in  harmony 
with  His  character  of  infinite  holiness  and 
perfection  ?  Is  it  true,  that  we  are  to  believe 
God  has  made  full  provision  for  the  soul  in 
this  life,  and  in  the  life  to  come,  and  so  ar- 
ranged all  things  at  the  beginning,  that  in 
the  fullness  of  time  a  Saviour  appeai-ed ;  and 
yet  has  ever  been,  and  is  indifferent  to  the  in- 


240  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

terests  of  the  soul,  during  the  periods  of  its 
greatest  trials  and  temptations  ? 

Or,  adopting  the  other  alternative,  shall  we 
say  that  God  could  have  made  abundant  pro- 
vision for  answering  prayer,  but  would  not  \ 
Plow  can  we  ascribe  to  Him  any  such  purpose, 
and  at  the  same  time  make  such  a  disposition 
accord  with  the  character,  with  which  we  know 
and  believe  He  is  invested  ?  We  are  driven  to 
no  such  extremity.  There  are  some  things 
w^hich  even  God  cannot  do — such  as  involve 
an  inherent  impossibility.  But  where  is  the 
inherent  impossibility  of  the  Creator  so  con- 
structing a  system,  like  that  in  which  we  now 
move,  and  in  which,  while  making  provision 
for  the  exercise  of  other  forces  whose  action 
causes  no  confusion,  provision  should  not  like- 
wise be  made  for  a  moral  and  spiritual  force ; 
whose  action,  while  at  times  it  may  appear 
extraordinary,  nay,  marvelous,  yet  would  not 
disturb  the  universe  any  more  than  the  opera- 
tion of  other  forces  ?  Where  the  inconceiv- 
ableness  of  this,  particularly  since  God  has 
both  the  will  and  power  thus  to  do ;  and  when 
no  reasonable  objection  can  be  urged  against 
such  a  previous  arrangement  ?  In  this 
exercise  of  the  Divine  will,  and  our  faith 
therein,    we     have     the     true     solution    of 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  241 

plienomena,  otherwise  dark  and  uninterpret- 
able. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  this  con- 
nection between  God's  pre-establishment  of 
all  things  at  the  beginning,  and  prayer,  is  not, 
as  some  may  think,  either  independent  or^> 
arbitrary,  but  analogous,  if  not  id entical  with, ' 
that  which  we  know  as  existing  between 
means  and  ends,  and  which  is  everywhere 
manifested  in  the  economy  of  nature.  If  any- 
thing is  true,  it  is  that  cause  and  effect  every- 
where prevail — that  it  is  omnipresent ;  and 
that  God  accomplishes  His  purposes  through 
the  use  of  means,  and  while  His  actions  may 
be  immediate,  they  are  more  frequently  me- 
diate. The  field  glistens  with  golden  grain, 
not  simply  because  it  was  provided  for  in  the 
beginning,  independently  of  the  ploughing 
and  the  sowing  of  the  husbandman,  but  be- 
cause God  knew  that  some  one  in  that  very  spot 
would  plough,  and  sow,  and  labor;,  in  other 
words,  it  is  the  fruit  of  employed  instrumeni' 
talities.  And  so  with  the  sun, — it  shines  to- 
day, or  the  rain  falls,  or  the  child  is  restored, 
or  the  pestilence  is  stayed,  not  because  all 
these  were  arranged  independent  of  the  means 
by  which  these  and  other  results  were  to  be 
secured ;  but  they  are  the  product  of  certain 
11^ 


L 


242  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

causes,  or  the  result  of  certain  means.  For 
God,  in  nature  as  in  all  other  economies,  is  a 
unity;  nor  does  He  any  more  pre-establish 
results,  than  the  agencies  by  which  they  were 
to  be  obtained ;  both  are  included  in  His 
eternal  plan.  If,  then,  the  agency  be  pro- 
vided, as  well  as  its  eJffect,  and,  as  in  the  realm 
of  prayer,  if  it  be  the  acknowledged  instru- 
ment through  whose  use  pre-established  re- 
sults are  to  flow,  when  employed;  what  is 
there  to  hinder  God's  honoring  it,  in  the  secur- 
ing of  answers  likewise  pre-arranged,  any 
more  than  His  honoring  the  agency  which 
the  husbandman  employs  in  securing  the  har- 
vest, which  is  also  contingent  upon  the  use  of 
prescribed  means  ? 

God,  then,  in  His  arrangement  of  the  uni- 
verse, fully  as  much  provided  for  prayer, 
as  for  the  operation  of  any  other  force  of 
whose  existence  we  may  be  conscious,  and 
which,  in  the  universe,  is  daily  being  mani- 
fested. 

But  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  disbe- 
lieve in  God's  pre-establishment  of  all  things 
at  the  beginning,  including  answers  to  prayer, 
as  much  so  as  other  phenomena,  admit  that 
the  answers  which  we  have  in  the  Bible  as 
cjnnected  with  prayer  are  miracles. 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES,  243 

What,  then,  we  may  inquire,  is  a  miracle  ? 
Whatever  reply  may  be  given  to  this  impor- 
tant question,  in  no  seDse  is  it  a  violation  of 
law,  nor  need  it  necessarily  involve  any  such 
thought.  If  there  be  any  such  phenomenon, 
it  is  certainly  an  effect ;  and  as  an  effect, 
its  primary  cause  cannot  be  anything  less 
than  that  of  other  effects  —  the  will  of  God. 
Trace  a  miracle  up  to  its  proper  home,  and 
since  all  things  had  a  beginning,  and  God  is 
the  author  of  all,  its  cause  must  be  acknowl- 
edged to  be  as  truly  the  will  of  God,  as  what 
we  term  natural  or  physical  law.  Because  a 
phenomenon  is  universal  or  extraordinary,  is 
it  any  the  less  of  God  than  one  that  is  com- 
mon ?  If,  then,  there  are  answers  to  prayer 
which  we  denominate  miraculous,  these  an- 
swers are  no  less  the  will  of  God,  than  are 
the  laws,  which  they  seem  to  contravene.  And 
cannot  God  reveal  His  will  in  that  realm/ 
where  the  soul  is  supreme,  as  in  the  natural 
kingdom  over  which  the  soul  is  master  ? 

But  it  is  replied,  perhaps,  such  answers  as 
the  Scriptures  attest  as  having  been  returned 
to  prayer,  are  violations  of  law.  With  this,  as 
an  abstract  question,  we  have  nothing  to  do. 
But  if  by  this  language  it  is  meant,  that  such 
answers  to  prayer  as  those  of  which  we  are 


2M  VEDDER  LECTURES, 

speaking,  involve  the  miraculous,  in  tlie  sense 
that  law  is  set  at  naught,  the  answer  is, — 
this  is  not  the  view  which  he  who  receives 
these  phenomena  cherishes  in  regard  to  prayer. 
For  he  who  would  plead  with  heaven,  for 
what  may  be  called  unusual  interventions  or 
favors,  which  some  may  be  pleased  to  desig- 
nate as  miraculous,  does  not  ask  that,  in  his 
behalf,  any  of  the  laws  of  nature  might  be 
suspended,  nor  that  anywhere  there  should 
be  the  least  infringement  of  law ;  he  contem- 
plates no  such  change,  but  that  an  answer  be 
given  him,  extraordinary,  astounding  though 
it  be,  if  it  be  in  harmony  with  the  will  of 
God,  and  in  perfect  accord,  also,  with  all  as 
established  at  the  beginning.  iSTo  man  prays 
that  water  may  run  u]3  hill ;  or  that  the  grass 
may  suddenly  change  its  color ;  or,  while 
heaven  gives  him  a  favor,  that  the  same  should 
be  withheld  from  others ;  for  all  such  feeling 
is  foreign  to  true  and  holy  prayer.  Selfish- 
ness, disruption,  disorder,  or  violation  of  law, 
do  not  enter  the  mind  of  him  who  would 
pray,  and  pray  aright.  Kather  he  believes, 
since  prayer  is  itself  a  law,  its  working  will 
be  in  perfect  obedience  to  law.  Nor  does  he 
profess  to  know  the  full  workings  of  this 
same  law  ;  nor  is  it  necessary  that  he  should. 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  245 

All  that  he  need  know  and  feel  is,  that  prayer 
is  a  force,  and  from  its  exercise  results  can  be 
secured,  as  from  the  exercise  of  any  other 
power;  and  if  his  petition  be  in  harmony 
with  God's  will,  though  extraordinary  or  un- 
usual may  be  the  answer,  still  it  is  an  answer 
to  his  prayer. 

Or  say,  as  others  would  have  us  believe, 
that  God  neither  pre-established  all  things  at 
the  creation,  nor  are  such  answers,  as  those  of 
which  the  Bible  speaks  as  returned  to  prayer, 
worthy  of  confidence,  since  there  is  a  fixed- 
ness about  nature,  which  can  neither  be  dis- 
regarded nor  disowned  ;  still,  may  not  such 
an  element  be  introduced  into  the  world 
which,  while  having  perfect  play,  would  not 
be  productive  of  discord,  and  an  element  to 
which  all  answers  to  prayer,  of  whatever 
character,  may  be  legitimately  attributed  ? 

Let  us  here  glance,  for  a  moment,  at  our  own 
nature,  and  bear  witness  to  a  truth  in  our  indi- 
vidual experience.  And  we  have  reference  to 
this — that  while  mysteries  invest  our  being,  and 
quite  as  great  as  any  discoverable  in  the  out- 
ward universe,  still  we  are  conscious  of  constant- 
ly introducing  an  element  into  the  aifairs  of  the 
worldjwhose  use  gives  us  consequences  which,  if 
it  had  not  been  put  in  operation,  much  which  we 


24G  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

now  have,  and  whicli  we  regard  as  its  fruits, 
would  not  have  been  ours ;  and  that  element 
is,  what  we  term  tlie  will.  Now,  what  the 
will  is,  or  what  is  its  relation  to  the  other 
faculties  of  our  being,  matters  not ;  but  w^hat 
force  in  the  world  more  disturbing,  or  more 
frequently  in  operation  \  And,  as  we  know, 
it  is  daily  exercised,  and  by  every  living  sen- 
tient being ;  and  the  disturbances  are  numer- 
ous which  it  is  making  among,  what  are  desig- 
nated as,  the  established  laws  of  the  universe. 
Yet  though  it  is  ever  in  motion,  it  in  no  way 
conflicts  with  the  regular  operation  of  any  of 
the  laws,  which  govern  the  universe,  and  which 
give  to  nature  its  stability.  And  how  varied 
are  its  achievements  !  In  obedience  to  it,  I 
need  but  raise  my  hand,  and  the  law  of  gravi- 
tation is  at  once  suspended  ;  or  I  need  but 
lash  the  air,  and  its  previous  equilibrium  is  im- 
mediately disturbed ;  I  move  my  body,  and 
cotemporaneous  with  my  effort,  the  law  of 
inertia  is  overcome ;  ever  is  it  working  in 
law,  and  by  law,  and  against  law,  and  yet 
anarchy  is  nowhere  discoverable,  nor  is  there 
the  faintest  cognizable  disturbance  of  what 
is  believed  to  be  fixed.  This  is  man's  actual 
relation  to  that  world  of  law  and  order,  in 
which  he  lives,  and  moves,  and  has  his  being. 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  247 

r 

/Hence,  shall  it  be  affirmed  tliat  God,  not- 
witlistaiiding  the  so-called  fixedness  of  nature, 
cannot  do,  and  in  a  far  higher  degree,  and  in 
a  more  comprehensive  way,  what  we  are  cer- 
tain of  doing,  and  disturbance  nowhere  be 
felt  in  the  universe  ?  .  Shall  we  withhold  from 
the  Creator,  what  we  feel  He  has  delegated  to 
the  creature?  Does  free  agency  stop  at  the 
human  stage  ?  Or  is  there  a  sphere  of  free- 
will, above,  far  above  the  human ;  in  which, 
as  in  the  human,  not  mere  physical  law,  but 
spirit  moves  matter?  The  free  will  of  the 
creature  pervades  and  penetrates  the  world, 
and  does  not  the  free  will  of  God  penetrate 
the  entire  universe  ?  If  so,  such*  phenomena, 
as  the  Bible  gives  in  answer  to  prayer,  are  as 
natural,  recalling  the  might,  the  power,  the 
fullness  of  this  same  will,  a?s  are  events  in 
this  lower  and  physical  world,  which  are 
the  results  of  our  will.  If  not,  as  has  been 
said :  "  The  seat  of  the  great  Presiding  Will 
is  empty,  and  nature  has  no  Personal  Head : 
man  is  her  highest  point;  he  finishes  her 
ascent,  though  by  this  very  supremacy  he 
falls,  for  under  fate  he  is  not  free  himself ; 
all  nature  either  ascends  to  God,  or  descends 
to  law."  Kather,  shall  we  not  say,  God  can 
accomplish  by  the  immediate  exercise  of  His 


248  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

will,  what  is  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  ob- 
tain, in  answer  to  prayer,  and  the  world 
suffer  no  more  violence  than  when  the  will  of 
man  ojperates  ?  And  should  God  thus  act,  as 
He  does  daily,  have  we  not  reason  for  saying, 
that  at  times  these  same  responses  would  be 
such,  as,  while  revealing  His  nature,  and 
manifesting  His  power,  would  show  that  He 
has  not  abandoned  the  universe,  and  is  not 
indifferent  to  the  needs  of  His  children  % 

Thus  it  is,  whatever  avenue  we  travel, 
whether  through  that  which  is  suggested  to 
us  by  God's  pre-ordering  of  all  events  at  the 
beginning,  by  considerations  of  His  nature 
and  character,  or  by  a  remembrance  of  what 
we  are,  and  how  constituted,  we  arrive  at  the 
same  conclusion — that  such  replies,  as  the 
Bible  has  given,  as  answers  to  prayer,  are  in 
no  way  impossible,  nor  are  they  at  all  im- 
probable ;  but  they  are  just  such  as  we 
should  expect  from  a  wise,  good,  holy,  and 
personal  God,  and  who  has  assigned  to  man 
that  wondrous  part,  in  the  government  of  the 
universe,  which  we  know  he  now,  and  has 
ever  enjoyed. 

Is  it  said,  that  a  far  higher  and  nobler  con- 
ception of  God  would  be  ours,  and  it  would  be 
one  more  in  unison  with  His  nature  and  char- 


PRA  YER  AND  All R A  CLE S.  249 

acter,  were  He  viewed  as  momentarily  in- 
specting the  whole  and  every  part  of  His 
universe,  and  ordering  it  by  His  omnipotent 
will,  than  as  having  pre-arranged  everything  at 
the  beginning ;  or  w^hich  would  speak  of  Him 
as  w\atching  His  creations ;  and  as  an  operator 
of  the  telegraj)h,  w^ho,  so  soon  as  an  inquiry 
or  a  prayer  came  along  the  line,  at  once  needs 
but  touch  a  certain  spring,  and  the  prayer  is  an- 
swered ?  Be  it  so.  So  far  as  we  may  meas- 
ure the  greatness  of  the  infinite  by  our  feeble 
conceptions,  all  this  may  be  true.  But  it 
matters  not.  It  is  unimportant  what  may  be 
our  theory,  as  to  the  method  in  Avhich  God 
governs  the  universe,  whether  mediate  or 
immediate ;  or  how  we  may  account  for  cer- 
tain phenomena ;  so  long  as  the  phenomena 
themselves  are  admitted.  And  as  this  latter 
theory  admits  the  fact,  it  is  all  that  is  sought. 

Am  I  here  asked.  Are  such  answers  to 
prayers  as  the  Bible  has  recorded  possible  in 
these  days  ?  We  answ^er,  all  true  prayer,  offered 
in  the  appointed  way,  and  in  faith,  if  it  be  in 
harmony  with  God's  will.  He  has  promised  to 
answer. 

But  this  inquiry  suggests  another ;  and  as  it 
is  one  w^hich  relates  largely  to  the  experiences 
of  many,  let  us  not  only  recognize  it,  but  give 


250  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

it  a  calm  and  dispassionate  consideration. 
For  after  all,  explain  as  we  may,  many  of  the 
phenomena  connected  with  prayer,  this  fact 
remains — that  often  truly  holy,  heartfelt  prayer 
is  offered,  and  no  voice  is  heard,  no  hand  is 
outstretched,  nor  is  there  the  smallest  seam 
discoverable  in  the  heavens ;  God  apparently 
has  remained  as  indifferent  to  the  cry  of  His 
child,  as  though  He  were  a  God,  like  the 
god  of  the  heathen.  And  how  often  the  in- 
quiry. Why  is  this  ?  Though  I  may  be  charged 
with  going  beyond  the  topic  given  me  in  these 
lectures,  as  this  is  such  an  universal  expe- 
rience, I  feel  it  merits,  at  the  close  of  our  dis- 
cussions, an  honest  consideration.  Let  me, 
therefore,  give  a  few  sentences  to  it,  and  con- 
fine myself  strictly  to  such  answers,  which,  so 
far  as  the  petitioner  is  concerned,  to  be  regard- 
ed as  answers,  must  be  made  known  while  he 
lives.  In  replying  to  this  question,  I  would 
observe, — 

First  That  there  is  far  less  genuine  or  ac- 
ceptable prayer,  than  we  are  apt  to  suppose. 
Without  attempting  to  describe  the  prayers 
of  many,  let  me  say,  in  brief :  some  supplica- 
tions are  purely  mechanical ;  others,  again,  are 
grandly  ceremonial;  others  are  merely  beautiful 
language,  threaded  as  beads  are  threaded  on 


PR  A  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  251 

some  golden  string ;  some  also  are  oratorical 
or  argumentative,  cold  and  lifeless;  while 
others  are  destitute  of  a  clear,  sharp,  distinct 
belief  in  a  personal  God,  as  the  hearer  and 
answerer  of  prayer.  What  true  prayer  is,  has 
already  been  described.  But  it  is  not  until 
we  have  subtracted  all  the  dry  and  turgid 
forms  of  prayer,  together  with  what  we  know 
is  not  holy  prayer,  from  what  is  denominated 
prayer,  are  we  able  to  learn  how  much 
true  prayer  has  been  winged  heavenward. 
Nor  is  it  to  be  forgotten, — 

Secondly,  That  were  God  to  answer  some 
prayers,  fervent  and  honest  though  they  may  be, 
they  would  be  far  more  detrimental  to  the  hap- 
piness of  the  petitioner,  than  were  He  not  to 
answer  them :  a  truth  suggested  to  us  by  such 
words  as  these,  ^'  ye  know  not  what  ye  ask ;" 
"  and  we  know  not  what  to  pray  for  as  we 
ought."  To  possess  some  things  which  we  cov- 
et would  be  our  ruin.  A  child,  seeing  a  serpent 
gliding  about  in  its  folds  of  green  and  gold,  and 
its  ruby  eyes  glistening  in  the  sun,  may  covet  it 
as  a  toy  for  play,  and  may  weej)  because  the 
hand  of  its  parent  does  not  give  it  him,  in  or- 
der that  he  might  nestle  it  in  his  bosom. 
But  what  hand  would  be  outstretched  to 
seize  the  reptile?     Or  who  would  think  of 


252  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

answering  its  appeals,  though  they  float  in 
tears?  And  so  in  our  relations  with  God. 
There  are  times  in  which,  through  pure  igno- 
rance, one  asks  for  favors,  which,  were  they 
granted,  would  be  as  injurious  to  him,  as  the 
giving  of  a  snake  would  be  hurtful  to  a  child. 
God  withholds  all  that  may  be  detrimental 
to  one's  best  interests,  however  earnestly  he 
may  pray  for  it. 

Tliirdhj.  We  must  not  expect  all  our 
prayers  to  be  answered.  Not  that  we  must 
pray  with  this  feeling ;  nor  yet  that  God  is  un- 
willing to  grant  our  requests ;  or  that  His  treas- 
ury is  a  limited  treasury ;  but  there  are  times, 
when,  at  the  same  hour,  different  and  antago- 
nistic favors  may  be  asked  of  Him.  Should 
one  pray  that  to-morrow  noon  it  may  rain,  and 
another  with  equal  fervor  and  a  motive  fully 
as  holy,  that  at  the  same  hour  the  sun  might 
shine  in  glorious  splendor,  God  cannot  an- 
swer both  prayers ;  for  He  has  not  put  the 
government  of  the  world  into  the  hands  of 
His  children.  All  true  prayer  is  conditional. 
Nor  is  that  acceptable  prayer  which  does  not 
express  a  desire  in  unison  with  the  will  of 
God ;  and  where  the  w^ant  of  the  petitioner 
is  not  limited  by  a  holy  acquiescence  in  the 
Divine    will.      How    clearly   is    this    truth 


PRA  YER  AND  MIRACLES.  253 

brought  out,  in  the  structure  of  that  prayer, 
which  the  Saviour  gave  the  disciples  in  an- 
swer to  the  appeal,  "  Lord,  teach  us  how  to 
pray ;"  whose  Brst  three  petitions  are  express- 
ive of  a  desire  for  God's  glory,  acquiescence 
in  His  will,  and  zeal  for  the  extension  of  His 
kingdom.  If,  therefore,  our  j)i'ayer  be  not 
answered,  it  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  God's 
indifference  or  unwillingness ;  but  from  some 
higher  end  which  He  has  in  view ;  and  an  end 
which  we  would  approve  of,  were  we  to  see 
and  know  its  bearings,  as  God  sees  and  knows 
them. 

Prayer  may  be  unanswered, — 

Fourthly.  Because  the  hour  for  its  reply  has' 
not  arrived.  Seed  does  not  spring  up  at  once ; 
often  many  days  and  nights  are  required  ere  it 
reveals  any  vitality.  God  is  as  frequent  in  de- 
laying, as  He  is  immediate  in  answering  ;  as  is 
so  plainly  illustrated  by  the  parable  of  the 
unfortunate  widow,  particularly  where  it  is 
said:  "And  shall  not  God  avenge  His  own 
elect,  who  cry  day  and  night  unto  Him, 
though  He  bear  long  with  them  V  By  which 
we  are  taught,  that  while  prayer  is  answered, 
for  certain  reasons,  also,  it  is  postponed.  In- 
deed, the  history  of  prayer  shows  that  God  is 
not  uniform, in  His  methods  of  response  to  it. 


254  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

Sometimes  the  answer  is  given  immediately ; 
frequently  after  a  long  delay.  "  Beloved,"  says 
the  apostle,  "  be  not  ignorant  of  this  one 
thing,  that  one  day  with  the  Lord  is  as  a 
thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day." 

God's  modes  of  answering  prayer  are  various ; 
and  in  the  main,  they  are  as  follows: 

First.  He  often  answers  not  according  to 
the  language  of  the  petitioner,  but  according 
to  the  desire. 

The  mother  of  St.  Augustine,  aware  of  the 
snares  which  beset  great  cities,  and  knowing 
the  propensities  of  her  wayward  boy,  prayed 
night  and  day,  and  day  and  night,  that 
in  some  way  God  would  thwart  her  son 
in  his  purpose  to  visit  the  Italian  capital. 
But  though  she  thus  prayed,  bidding  his  mo- 
ther farewell,  he  was  soon  amid  the  scenes 
and  temptations  of  the  great  metropolis.  But 
while  at  Rome  he  was  converted.  Monica's 
prayer  was,  that  her  son  should  not  enter  the 
city;  while  her  desire  was  that  he  be  converted. 
The  particular  thing  asked  for  v/as  withheld, 
and  yet  the  desire  of  her  heart  was  gratified. 
Secondly.  God  frequently  answers  the  prayers 
of  His  children  different  in  form  from  their 
desire;    or.   He   seems   to  set   aside  our  im- 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  255 

mediate  wants,  that  He  may  give  us  greater 
blessings.  As  one  of  the  fathers  expresses 
it,  "  Si  non  ad  voluntam  ad  utilitatemr  ^'  Th ere 
was  given  to  me,"  says  Paul,  "  a  thorn  in  the 
flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  me,  lest 
I  should  be  exalted  above  measure.  And 
'for  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice, 
that  it  might  depart  from  me."  His  trial 
was  not  removed,  and  yet  we  hear  him  after- 
wards glorying  in  his  infirmity.  God  an- 
swered his  prayer,  not  in  the  removal  of  his 
sorrow,  but  in  giving  him  strength  to  bear  it. 
And  who  will  say  that  Paul  did  not  feel,  that 
his  request  had  been  heard?  In  the  same 
manner  also,  one  of  Christ's  prayers  was 
answered ;  not  in  the  removal  of  the  sorrow, 
but  in  giving  Him  strength  to  bear  it — the 
direct  answer  denied,  yet  the  prayer  really 
replied  to.  In  the  garden.  He  prayed,  "  Fa- 
ther, if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me ;  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou 
wilt."  But  did  God  answer  this  urgent  cry 
by  removing  the  cup  ?  Did  He  not  rather 
strengthen  Him  for  the  scenes,  which  then 
were  so  near  at  hand  ?  God  is  not  shut  up 
to  a  single  line  of  operation  in  bestowing  the 
favors,  which  may  be  asked  of  Him.  There 
is  a  lad  rolling  on  the  ground,  and  foaming 


256  VEDDER  LECTURES. 

at  the  mouth,  and  biting  his  tongue  until  the 
blood  flows,  and  flows  freely.  Alas  !  how  he 
writhes  and  struggles !  What  contortions  ! 
"What  agonies  !  What  groans  !  What  fear- 
ful wrenchings!  But  it  is  all  over.  The 
strain  has  been  too  much  for  the  suffering 
boy.  Some,  may  say,  "  He  is  dead  !"  But  is 
he  dead  \  Nay,  the  Saviour  has  been  expell- 
ing an  unclean  spirit  from  him ;  exorcising 
the  devil  which  was  in  him.  You  may  say, 
"That  would  not  be  my  way  of  casting  out  a 
devil ;"  but  it  is  God's  way.  If  God  regards 
one's  well-being  more  than  his  present  wish ;  or 
if  He  confer  upon  one  greater  blessings,  by  a 
denial  of  what  may  be  asked  of  Him;  or  if 
He  gives  an  individual  grace  to  bear  what 
He  has  called  upon  him  to  bear,  his  prayer  is 
really  answered. 

Some  think  a  tree  can  be  large  only  as  it 
grows  on  its  outer  side,  or  from  without; 
God's  method  is  to  increase  it  from  within. 

But  is  it  asked.  What  are  the  prayers  to 
which  replies  may  be  immediately  looked 
for  ?  And  the  answer  \^^pro7aised  hlessmgs  ;  if 
we  pray  for  them  in  faith.  Thus  Daniel 
prayed  for  the  restoration  of  Judah,  and  the 
rebuilding  of  Jerusalem.  In  the  same  man- 
ner, also,  the  discij)les  prayed  for  the  Holy 


PRAYER  AND  MIRACLES.  257 

Ghost,  before  the  day  of  Pentecost,  depend- 
ing on  the  Saviour's  promise  to  send  the  Com- 
forter '-'-  not  many  days  hence."  The  Holy 
Ghost  is  specially  promised  in  answer  to  be- 
lieving supplication,  as  we  read :  "  If  ye  then 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
your  children,  how  much  more  will  your 
heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  SjDirit  to  them 
that  ask  Him."  Pardon  is  also  promised,  with 
spiritual  blessings  here,  and  eternal  life  in  the 
hereafter.  "  What  things  soever  ye  desire,  w^hen 
ye  pray  believe  that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye 
shall  have  them,"  applies  here  in  all  its  force. 
And  while  we  should  pray  in  faith  for  %m- 
'promised  UessingSj  our  expectations  should 
not  be  so  great,  as  though  we  were  seeking 
those  w  hich  had  been  promised.  Here  God's 
will  is  to  be  the  measure  of  His  response,  and 
in  His  character  we  are  to  discover  the  foun- 
dation of  all  our  hopes. 

"O  THOU  THAT  HEAEEST  PRAYER, 
UNTO  THEE  SHALL  ALL  FLESH  COME." 


//c. 

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